i LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 
I <***■ J3S4-80 l 

f UNfTED STATES OF AMERICA.! 



REASON AND REVELATION. 



V 

ft REASON AND REVELATION 



THE PROVINCE OF REASON 



IN MATTERS PERTAINING TO 



DIVINE REVELATION DEFINED AND ILLUSTRATED; 



AND THE PARAMOUNT AUTHORITY OP 



The Holy Scriptures Vindicated. 



By K. MILLIGAN, 

PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE IN KENTUCKY TJNIVEBSITY. 



"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God ; and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, 
thoroughly furnished for every good work."— 2 Timothy iii: 16. 




>v -«ryofCo^ 



y <* Washing 

c CINCINNATI: 



R. W. CARROLL & CO., PUBLISHERS, 

117 WEST FOURTH STREET. 

1868. 



$34- 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by 

R. W. CARROLL & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 
Southern District of Ohio. 

STEREOTYPED AT THE FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY, CINCINNATI. 



GENEKAL CONTENTS 



Page 

INTRODUCTION xi 



PART I. 
DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE 15 



CHAPTER I. 
PRELIMINARY 15 

CHAPTER II. 
THE UNITY AND HARMONY OF THE BIBLE 22 

CHAPTER III. 

THE UNITED SIMPLICITY AND INCOMPREHENSIBILITY 
OF THE BIBLE 27 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE UNPARALLELED THEOLOGY OF THE BIBLE 31 

(v) 



VI GENERAL CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

Page 

SUPERIOR MORALITY OF THE BIBLE 34 

Section I. — Standards of Morality 34 

Section II. — Motives op Different Ethical Systems 37 

Section III. — Actual State of Morals 39 

Section IV. — Superior and More Elevating Tendencies of the 

Christian System of Morality 40 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE SUPERNATURAL CHARACTER OF CHRIST 41 

CHAPTER VII. 

EXISTENCE AND PREVALENCE OF CHRISTIANITY 53 

Section I. — Triumphs of the Gospel a proof of its Divine 

Origin 53 

Section II. — Christianity and Mahometanism Compared 58 

CHAPTER VIII. 

FULFILLED PROPHECY 61 

Section I. — Nebuchadnezzar's Vision of the Stone and the 

Image 61 

Section II. — Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts — Daniel vii. 72 
Section III. — The Mahometan Dominion ; or, The Little Horn 

of the Goat — Daniel viii., 83 

Section IV. — The Seventy Weeks of Daniel — Chap, ix 94 

Section V. — Prophetic History of the Israelites — Daniel x, 

xi, and xii 101 



GENERAL CONTENTS. VII 



PART II. 

Page 

THE CANON OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 154 



CHAPTER I. 
CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 155 

CHAPTER II. 

CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 168 

■ 
CHAPTER III. 

THE APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS 205 



PART III. 
THE INTEGRITY OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES... 213 

CHAPTER I. 
SCOPE OF BIBLICAL CRITICISMS 213 

CHAPTER II. 
HISTORY OF BIBLICAL CRITICISM 229 



Vlll GENERAL CONTENTS. 



PART IV. 

Page 

INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 247 



CHAPTER I. 
INSPIRATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 248 

CHAPTER II. 
INSPIRATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 259 

CHAPTER III. 
THEORIES OF INSPIRATION 270 

Section I. — False Theories of Inspiration 270 

Section II. — Consideration of the Natural, the Providential, 
and the Miraculous in the Divine Administra- 
tion 275 

Section III. — The True Theory of Inspiration 283 



PART V. 

SACRED HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS 286 

CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 286 

Section I. — Fundamental Principles of Interpretation 286 

Section II. — Nature and Scope of Biblical Exegesis 288 

Section III. — Inductive and Deductive Methods of Exegesis ... 289 



GENERAL CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTER II. 

Page 

CONSIDERATION OF HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES 292 

CHAPTER III. 

HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS PROPER 304 

Section I. — Rules for Ascertaining the Meaning of Single 

"Words and Phrases 304 

Section IT. — Rules for Ascertaining the Meaning of Sentences 351 
Section III. — Figurative Language 332 

CHAPTER IV. 
ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS 339 

CHAPTER V. 
ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 358 



PART VI. 

LAST AND HIGHEST FUNCTION OF REASON.... 365 



PART VII. 

SUPPLEMENTARY 369 

CHAPTER I. 

THE BIBLE AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION 369 

Section I. — The Acquiring Process 370 

Section II. — The Developing Process 372 

Section III, — The Formative Process 378 



X GENERAL CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER II. 

Page 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE BIBLE STUDENT 381 

Section I. — Intellectual Qualifications 381 

Section II. — Moral Qualifications 382 

Section III. — Literary Qualifications 383 

CHAPTER III. 

HELLENISTIC GREEK 386 

Section I. — Its History 386 

Section II. — Characteristics of Hellenistic Greek 388 

CHAPTER IV. 

FAITH AND INFIDELITY 393 

Section I. — Faith 393 

Section II. — Formalism 400 

Section III. — Indifferentism 405 

Section IV. — Spiritualism 414 

Section V. — Naturalism 421 

Section VI. — Pantheism 428 

Section VII. — Atheism 436 



INTEODUCTION" 



It is painful to see the popular indifference that is every- 
where manifested for the Word of God. I do not mean to 
say, with some, that this indifference is increasing; or that 
it is even as great now as it was a hundred years ago. I am 
fully persuaded that it is not. Indeed, I feel entirely con- 
fident, that the Holy Scriptures had never before so great 
an influence over the masses of mankind as they have at 
present. But, nevertheless, their influence is very little in 
comparison with what it ought to be. Very few persons 
seem to believe the Bible with their whole hearts. And 
hence but few tremble at its solemn precepts and warnings : 
very few seem to feel and to acknowledge its paramount 
claims and authority. Most unconverted men have, of 
course, but little regard for it : and even in the Church, its 
laws and its institutions are, by many, treated with more in- 
difference than the petty rules and regulations of a borough 
police. 

It would be an interesting problem, to inquire into the 

(xi) 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

cause or causes of this wide-spread indifference with respect 
to the laws, and ordinances, and institutions of Jehovah. 
And it might, moreover, have a bearing for good, in many- 
ways. But for this, I have not time, at present. My ob- 
ject, in the following pages, is not so much to inquire into 
the origin and history of this popular skepticism, as to re- 
move it. I wish, as far as possible, to enlighten the popu- 
lar understanding ; to assign to Reason her proper province ; 
and to arouse to a sense of feeling and activity, the slum- 
bering conscience. In this way, and by these means, I 
hope to sweep away some of the false refuges in which men 
are prone to trust ; and to help, it may be in a very humble 
way, to restore the Bible to its proper position, as the only 
safe and all-authoritative ride of faith and practice. 

The work is designed for all classes of readers; and I 
have therefore written it with all possible simplicity and 
plainness. The occasional introduction of Greek and He- 
brew words need not discourage any one from reading the 
book. Their English equivalents are always given, as far 
as the nature of the case will permit: so that the mere 
English student can use the work with as much freedom 
and satisfaction as if it contained no foreign words of any 
kind; while the classical student will not unfrequently be 
assisted by having the original words expressed in their 
proper connection. 

To all students of the Bible, then, and especially to young 
men preparing for the work of the Christian Ministry, the 
following pages are respectfully and affectionately dedicated. 
If they in any measure serve the purpose for which they 



INTRODUCTION. xm 

were written, I will not regret, that in great physical weak- 
ness and suffering, I have, at the request of many brethren, 
prepared them for the press. That God may graciously 
sanctify them to his own glory, and make them eminently 
instrumental in promoting truth and righteousness among 
men, is my earnest and sincere prayer, for Christ's sake. 



E. MlLLIGAN". 

October 1, 1867. 



Kentucky University, ) 



.y 



REASON AID REVELATION. 



PART FIRST. 
DITIXE ORIGIX OF THE BIBLE. 



General scope of 
the Treatise. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY. 

My theme is The Province of Reason in 
matters pertaining to Divine Revelation. On 
this, as on most other questions of great prac- 
tical importance, mankind have long been divided. Some 
run to one extreme, and some to another. The 

Two extremes 

Mystics, for example, constrained by their false onthisques- 
system of philosophy, have generally assigned 
to Reason a very low and subordinate place in views of the 
the investigation and discovery of truth. With 
them, the Inner Light, (lumen internum,) produced by the 
immediate and direct operation of the Spirit of God on the 
sensibilities of the human soul, is the guide of life. With- 
out this, Reason, in their estimation, is blind ; and the Bible 
is a sealed book, an inexplicable enigma. 

The Rationalists, on the other hand, give to views of the 
Reason all authority. Whatever they can ex- p - tioI - tists - 
plain rationally, i. e., according to their approved system or 

(15) 



16 REASON AND REVELATION. 

systems of philosophy, they receive as true; but whatever 
they can not so explain and comprehend, they reject as false 
and absurd. And hence it follows that the Bible has no 
more authority with them than a heathen classic. Its mira- 
cles are all either wholly ignored as false, or treated as myths. 
And its remaining portions are constantly tortured and per- 
verted in the ever-varying crucible of whatever may happen 
to be the popular system of philosophy. 
How these two Here, then, as in many other cases, extremes 
if referLTto meet - The tendency of both Mysticism and 
the Eibie. Rationalism is to greatly diminish, if indeed 

not to wholly destroy, the authority and influence of Divine 
Revelation. The former does this, by degrading Reason; 
the latter, by unduly exalting her. The former makes her 
the mere slave of feeling: the latter deifies her, and makes 
her the sovereign arbiter in all things pertaining to human 
life and human destiny. 

where the But here also, as in most similar cases, the 

truth occupies medium ground. The fundamen- 
tal principle of Mysticism is a fundamental error. Every 

o . . .- * man who looks narrowly into his own COn- 
Refutation of J 

the Mystical sciousness, knows full well that subjective truth 
originates not in the feelings or sensibilities, as 
Swedenborg and his school would have us believe, but in the 
understanding or the intellect. Through the medium of the 
intellect, it pervades the sensibilities ; through the sensibili- 
ties, it influences the will; and through the will, it controls the 
life. Even the conscience itself is subject to the dictates and 
teachings of the understanding. It is always a faithful moni- 
tor. But its ofnce is not to judge, but to execute. It is the 
sheriff that faithfully carries out the decisions of Reason, 
whether they be right or wrong; whether they be true or 
false ; whether they be just or unjust. Paul had always a 
good conscience; that is, an approving conscience; because he 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 17 

always acted conscientiously; but, nevertheless, he was a 
very great sinner, because his reason erred. 

Keason, then, has something to do, even in religious mat- 
ters. But it does not follow that her influence Reason limited 
here is absolute, or that she is at liberty to re- inheropera- 

. tions. 

ject as spurious or absurd whatever she can not 
herself fully explain and comprehend. Not at all. Her 
powers and functions are limited. She must She depends on 
have the necessary evidence before she can de- the evidence 

. . . submitted. 

cide on the truth or falsity of any proposition. 
She may, it is true, form an opinion on any subject; but 
even this opinion Avill be found, on examination, to depend 
on the implied probabilities or improbabilities of the case. 
The uninstructed youth, for example, would not _,, . 

J r Illustration 

hesitate for a moment to answer in the negative from the planet 
the question whether or not the planet Jupiter 
is inhabited. As he looks up into the heavens, he sees 
there, under the name of Jupiter, but a bright spot, appar- 
ently not near so large as the small sunflower in his fath- 
er's garden. And hence, from the evidence in his posses- 
sion, he can not think that it would be a suitable residence 
for such beings as are men and women. But let him now 
be informed that the earth was made for man ; that its vast 
mineral, vegetable, and animal resources were all designed 
for the comfort and happiness of beings formed in the im- 
age and likeness of their Creator; let him be further told 
or made to understand, on reliable evidence, that Jupiter is 
about fourteen hundred times larger than the earth; that 
it has four times as many satellites; that it revolves on its 
axis and in its orbit, like the earth; and that, on the whole, 
il has a much greater influence in the Solar system than our 
own little planet, and soon his doubts will begin to change, 
and his reason will finally decide in favor of the probability 
of its being inhabited by some such rational and accounta- 
2 



18 REASON AND REVELATION. 

ble beings as man. I say probability, because, the evidence 
being onlv probable, the conclusion must also 

Character of o J 1 J 

the couciujion b e probable. But let the evidence be conclu- 

depends on the . 

kmdofevi- sive or demonstrative, and so, also, will be 
the conclusion. Concede, for example, that all 
men are mortal, and that Socrates is a man, and then Rea- 
son will, of necessity, draw the conclusion that Socrates is 
mortal. If she is not satisfied with the conclusion, she may 
review the premises. But let their correctness be conceded, 
and then Reason has no alternative left but to draw the con- 
clusion and to acquiesce in it, whether she fully comprehends 
, a it or not. This, then, is her province in every 

General ofhee ' * * J 

province of department of truth to which the human mind 
has access. It is simply by a process of ab- 
straction, comparison, and generalization to draw from the 
data otherwise furnished, the proper inferences and conclu- 
sions. 

And hence it is obvious that her relations to Divine Rev- 
intimate con- elation are most intimate and important. The 
nectionbe- verv fi rs ± question that naturallv arises in the 

tween Reason # - A _ -r»-r i 

and Beveia- mmd of every man concerning the Bible respects 
its origin. Is it of human, or is it of Divine 
origin? Is it the word of man's wisdom, or is it, as it 
First province claims to be, the word of the living God? To 
matter8°per° answer this question, therefore, on the ground 
taming to Di- £ a ij ^j ie e yi c ] ence variously furnished, is the 

vine Kevela- * ' 

tion - first province of Reason in matters pertaining 

to Divine Revelation. 

Proof that God God requires no man to believe without suf- 
requiresno ficient evidence. He did not require even Pha- 

mau to believe . , . .. 

without suffix raoh and the Egyptians to do this.* Jsor did 

Christ require this of the Jews. " If," said he, 

"I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had 

* Exodus vii: 9. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 19 

sin ; but now they have no cloak for their sin." And again, 
he adds, in the second verse following : " If I had not done 
among them the works which no other man has done, they 
would have had no sin; but now they have both seen and 
hated both me and my Father."* 

In such a treatise as this, in which brevity is a primary 
object, it will not, of course, be expected that I should fur- 
nish even a general outline of the evidences of Christianity. 
For this, I must refer the reader to the works of Lardner, 
Paley, Butler, Blount, Home, Chalmers, Heng- _ , 

J 7 7 J & Works on the 

stenberg, Mansell, Rogers, Taylor, McCosh, Ull- evidences of 
mann, Auberlen, Schaff, and other writers on 
the genuineness and Divine authenticity of the Holy Scrip- 
tures. But a matter so fundamental as this should not be 
passed over in silence. Reason demands that, even in this 
brief treatise, we should have a sufficient and satisfactory 
reason for our faith in the Word of God. Without this, 
indeed, my object in writing this book would be in a great 
measure defeated. And I will, therefore, as briefly as I can, 
present and illustrate one of the many chains of The chain of 
evidence that serve to prove the Divine origin gelled 7/ this 
of the Holy Scriptures. It all depends on the treatise- 
universally-acknowledged relation that exists between cause 
and effect. 

It is now every-where conceded, and received as an axiom- 
atic truth, that every effect must have its own Thefunda- 
adequate and sufficient cause. It is not enough pleonh^chain 
that it have merely a cause. The common of ar « Hme nt is 

^ universally 

sense of mankind demands and requires that conceded. 
the cause shall be adequate and sufficient. Otherwise, we 
know intuitively, as well as experimentally, that the effect 
can not and will not follow in any case. 

Thus, for instance, all sane persons would reject as absurd 
• John xv : 22 and 24. 



20 KEASON AND REVELATION. 

the allegation that a clock or a watch is the result of 
T „ A chance ; that it was made in some way without 

Illustration. 7 J 

a maker, and that it was designed without a 
designer. Such an idea is wholly inconsistent with even our 
earliest intuitions, and the first developments of Reason. 

And hence, you see why it is that the dogmas of Athe- 
wh Atheism * sm have a l wavs been regarded as so very ab- 
is so very ab- surd by all men of sobriety and reflection. Con- 
cede that there is a God who made, preserves, 
and governs all things, and then all is plain, simple, and 
rational. We have, then, a cause that is adequate and suffi- 
cient to account for all the varied phenomena of nature. 
We can, then, understand how it is, and why it is, that the 
heavens are so beautiful, and that the earth is so well 
adapted to all the wants and circumstances of man. 

But to deny, with most modern Atheists, that the uni- 
Fundamentai verse has any marks of design or intelligence, 

truth denied by . . ■% .-, . -, r 

Modern Athe- 1S to deny the evidence ot our own senses. 
ists. ^ n( j t ga y^ w ^h anc i en t Atheists, that evi- 

dence of design does not of necessity imply the existence 
Fundamental and agency of a designer, is to ignore thefunda- 

truth denied by , 7 7 _? -, its j j j 

Ancient Athe- mental laws oj human belief, ana to deprive rea- 
ists - son of her most reliable data. 

And just so it is with respect to the Divine authenticity 
concede that of the Holy Bible. Concede that this wonder- 
God is the au- f u i volume is the inspired Word of God, and 

thor of the Bi- *■ ^ 7 

bie, and what then all that follows is plain, simple, and ra- 
tional. The facts and other recorded phenom- 
ena are just such as we might reasonably anticipate. 
Deny this But deny this fundamental truth, assume that 

-truth,™ nd* the Bible is not the inspired Word of God, but 
what /acts can fa^ jj. j s a wor k f uninspired men, however 

inot be account- r ' 

edfor? great and however learned, and then how will 

you account, 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 21 

I. For the Unity and the Harmony of this wonderful 
hook ? 

II. How will you account for its great Simplicity, and, 
at the same time, for its absolute Incomprehensibility? 

III. How will you account for its unparalleled The- 
ology ? 

IV. How will you account for its superior code of Mo- 
rality, and its ameliorating influence on society? 

V. How will you account for the Supernatural Character 
of Christ ? 

VI. How will you account for the Existence, History, 
and Prevalence of Christianity ? 

VII. How will you account for the many plain and un- 
mistakable instances of Fulfilled Prophecy? 

VIII. And, finally, how will you account for the Har- 
mony of the Bible with the Progress and Discoveries of 
Modern Science and Philosophy ? 

It seems to me that this Chapter of Christian Evidences 
has never yet been fairly and satisfactorily in- Reason for se - 
vestigated. And I have, therefore, selected it, chapter oTev- 
for the double purpose of proving the Divine idence - 
origin of the Holy Scriptures, and showing that God still 
requires no man to believe without sufficient evidence. 



22 REASON AND REVELATION. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE UNITY AND HARMONY OF THE BIBLE. 

My present subject is the Unity and Harmony of the 
subectof Holy Bible. This will be best understood by 

chapter sec- referring, for illustration, to the unity and har- 
mony of the Book of Nature. 

It has been often said, and truly said, that nature is a 
Proof that Na- unit. With this important truth most of my 
tureisaunit: rea d e rs are, no doubt, more or less familiar. 
Many of you have learned from your Chemistry that the 
whole mineral kingdom is composed of about sixty-four 
From chemis- different kinds of atoms, united together in 
try - the most exact and definite proportions. And 

from your text-books on Natural History, some of you, at 
From Natural least, have also learned that there is a very close 
History. connection between the Mineral, Vegetable, and 

Animal Kingdoms ; that, as the mineral is the basis of the 
vegetable, so, also, is the vegetable the stay and support of 
the animal ; and the animal, again, of the spiritual. So that 
the earth, though composed of millions of atoriis, and occu- 
pied by innumerable species, is really but one perfect and 
harmonious whole. 

Nor is this all. Under the mysterious influence of attrac- 
From Astron- tion, the Earth and several other planets, pri- 
omy - mary and secondary, are bound to the Sun, form- 

ing one Solar system. And by the same mysterious forces, 
the Solar system is linked to another ; and this again to an- 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 23 

other, and another, until all are finally united in one glo- 
rious, sublime, and boundless universe. 

True, indeed, there are, in this vast and boundless scheme 
of nature, many apparent discrepancies and ir- 
regularities. Acids and alkalies have very un- erepanoiesin 
like properties. Some vegetables are poisonous, 
and others are nutritious. Some animals are rational, and 
others are irrational. Some of the planets move west- 
ward, and some eastward ; some in orbits that are nearly 
circular, and others in orbits that are extremely elliptical. 
But all such cases of apparent discord are re- These are all 
ally essential elements of unity and harmony. essenUa i ele - 

J j j merits of har- 

They are all necessary parts and links of mony. 

" that golden, everlasting chain, 

Which in its strong embrace holds heaven, and earth, and main," 

and which really serves to unite in one harmonious whole 
all parts and parcels of the entire physical universe. 

And just so it is, with respect to the Bible. It, too, has 
its links and its chains of Divine harmony, ex- Evidence that 
tending: from its Alpha to its Omega : and from tbe Bibl< ; is 

° L ° ' also one har- 

its center to all parts of its circumference. monious whole. 

Take, for example, the chain of Divine promises concern- 
ing the coming, the reign, and the triumphs of 
the Messiah. The first of these is given in the promises con- 
sentence that God pronounced on the Old Ser- 
pent, immediately after the fall of man. "I will," said 
Jehovah, " put enmity between thee and the woman, and 
between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, 
and thou shalt bruise his heel."* He did not say seeds, as 
if he were speaking of many ; but he said, " Her Seed," 
which is Christ, f 

Again it was said to Abraham, " In thy seed shall all the 
* Genesis iii: 15. f Galatians iii : 16. 



24 REASON AND REVELATION. 

nations of the earth be blessed."* And again, Jacob said 
to his twelve sons, "The scepter shall not depart from 
Judah, nor a lawgiver from his offspring, till Shiloh come; 
and to him shall the gathering of the people be."f And 
again, Moses said to the children of Israel, "A prophet shall 
the Lord your God raise up to you of your brethren, like 
unto me : him shall ye hear in all things. And it shall 
come to pass, that whosoever will not hear that prophet, 
shall be cut oif from among the people."! And still again, 
Isaiah, speaking in vision, says, "Unto us a child is born; 
unto us a son is given ; and the government shall be upon 
his shoulder ; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Coun- 
sellor, the mighty God, the Father of the everlasting age, 
the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government 
and peace, there shall be no end ; upon the throne of David, 
and upon his kingdom ; to fix it, and to establish it, with 
justice and with judgment from henceforth and forever. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."|| 

Similar promises were afterward frequently and variously 
repeated by other prophets. But when the fullness of time 
was come, the Seed of the woman, the Seed of Abraham, the 
promised Shiloh, the long-expected Prophet, the Messenger 
of the Covenant, and the Founder of the everlasting age, 
all appeared in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This chain 
of evidence has been so often and so fully illustrated by 
others, that to say more concerning it at present is unneces- 
sary. 

Another very good illustration of the unity and harmony 
illustration of the Holy Bible, we have given in the institu- 

taken from the , . n . « mi • ±. i • 

institution of t 10n of sacrifice. Ihis was a very ancient ordi- 
sacrince. nance. For many centuries, sacrifices were daily, 

and I may say blindly, offered on both Jewish and Gentile 

•'•Genesis xxii: 18. f Genesis xlix: 10. JDeut. xviii: 15-19. 
I! Isaiah ix: 6 and 7. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 25 

irs. A lamb was selected from the flock; it was then 
killed ; its flesh was burned on the altar, and its blood was 
sprinkled on and about the altar. Bat for what purpose? 
There was not found on earth a Jewish Rabbi or a Gentile 
philosopher that could answer this question. It was all 
mystery — dark as the original chaos, and inexplicable as 
a shadow without a substance — until Christ came as the 
Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. Then, 
and not till then, it was manifest that the institution pointed 
clearly, distinctly, and exclusively to Him who was to be 
wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniqui- 
ties. 

The same may be said of the Levitical Priesthood, and 
most of the other types of the Old Covenant. Evidence 
They all directly or indirectly pointed to Him otheMegai" 1 
who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning types - 
and the end, the center and the circumference of the whole 
Bible. And hence it is evident that the Holy Scriptures 
are a unit; that there is thus formed between all their parts 
a connection, which is at once plain, clear, and unmis- 
takable. 

If any thing more is necessary on this subject, it may be 
found in the oneness of sentiment and doctrine Proof drawn 
which pervades the whole Bible. But I presume nes^f doctline 
that enough has been said to establish clearly andsentimeut - 
and fully the unity and harmony for which we plead. 

I do not, of course, mean to say that there are not in the 
Bible, as there are in nature, some apparent dis- A p P areni dis- 
crepancies. Even the great and good Luther <= n 'P anci0R ; 

A ° ° how accounted 

once thought that the teachings of James were for. 
irreconcilably opposed to the teachings of Paul. Lut her's mis- 
And hence, for a time, he rejected the Epistle take - 
of James as an uninspired document. But a more careful 
and critical study of both James and Paul finally convinced 



• 



26 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the great Reformer that the error was in himself; that the 
alleged discrepancy was only apparent; and that James and 
Paul not only perfectly agree with each other, but also with 
all the other writers of both the Old and the New Testa- 
ment. 

How, then, is this very remarkable unity of doctrine, and 
sentiment, and plan to be accounted for ? 

If the Bible had been all written by one and the same 
Diversity of author, this might serve to account for it in 
circumstances p ar + though it would by no means account 

under which ■»■ ' ° * 

the Bible was even partially for many other characteristics of 
this wonderful volume. But as my readers all 
know, even this much can not and must not be conceded. 
The Bible consists of sixty-six books, composed by about 
thirty different authors, during a period of about sixteen 
hundred years, and under the most diverse circumstances 
conceivable. Moses wrote the Pentateuch in the wilder- 
ness, when science, literature, and the arts were in their 
infancy. David composed most of his odes under the ex- 
citing, distracting and embarrassing influences of a regal 
court. Daniel and Ezekiel prophesied in captivity. Paul 
dictated several of his most important epistles while he was 
a prisoner at Rome, and under the care and vigilance of a 
Roman guard. And John wrote the Apocalypse while he 
was banished to Patmos, for the word of God and the tes- 
timony of Jesus Christ. 

Whence, then, I again ask, is this remarkable unity, 
Nevertheless, this unparalleled harmony that pervades the 
harmony are whole Bible? We find nothing like it in the 
without a par- anc j en f or modern systems of philosophy ; noth- 

allel, save in ^ A * * ' 

nature. [ n g like it in the traditions of the Jews; and 

nothing like it in the creeds and confessions of modern 
Christendom. The only parallel case is found in the book 
of nature. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 27 

The necessary and only legitimate conclusion, then, from 
all these premises, is, that the Author of Nature 
is also the Author of the Bible; and that holy 
men of old composed this most wonderful book as they were 
moved by the Holy Spirit. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE UNITED SIMPLICITY AND INCOMPREHENSIBILITY OF THE 
BIBLE. 

The second argument that I shall submit in proof of the 
Divine Origin of the Holy Bible, is taken from scope and 
its great simplicity associated with a length, second °argu- 
and breadth, and depth of meaning that far ment - 
transcends the range and capacity of the most profound un- 
inspired genius. 

That the way of life is plain and accessible to every 
one who honestly seeks after honor, and glory, Proof that the 

i • , v, l •! J way of life is 

and immortality, may be very easily and very very plain to 
clearly proved in several ways. And, every honest 

J r . . student of the 

I. By a reference to the pilgrimage of the Bible. 
children of Israel, from Egypt to Canaan. So long as the 
traveler kept his eye on the pillar of the Argument 
cloud, and followed its movements, all was well, types o f fthe ml 
There was no danger of his being misled or Covenant - 
misdirected by any one. Nothing short of a willfid neglect 
of the line of march, and of the places of rest marked out 
by that supernatural symbol of Jehovah's presence, could 
cause any one to wander from the way that would have in- 
evitably led all Israel, if obedient, into the enjoyment of the 
Promised Land. It was their obstinate refusal to follow 



28 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the cloud, or a persistent determination to anticipate its 
movements, that caused them to wander so long in the 
wilderness. Had they been obedient, the way was open, 
and they might all, without the loss of one, have marched 
directly from Kadesh Barnea into Canaan. 

Now, be it remembered that all these things happened 
unto them as Types, (tutto!*), and they were written for our 
admonition. The Hebrews were delivered from bondage, 
and so are we. Their march was through a great and ter- 
rible wilderness, and so is ours. Their guide was super- 
natural, and so is ours. So long as they followed it with 
the humble, confiding disposition of little children, all was 
well; and just so it has ever been with Christians. So 
long as they have faithfully followed God's directions, so long 
their way has always been plain and prosperous. But when- 
ever they have laid aside the Word of God, and taken rea- 
son, or feeling, or any invention of their own as the guide 
of life, then, just as uniformly, have followed shame, mis- 
ery, and disappointment. 

II. The great plainness and simplicity of the 

Argument and or r J 

illustration way of duty, life, and happiness may be further 

from Prophecy. ... , . 

illustrated by prophecy. 
In one of Isaiah's most vivid, clear, and interesting vis- 
ions concerning the times and reign of the Messiah, he saw 
a beautiful highway cast up for the redeemed. It was 
called " The Way of Holiness" It was, moreover, entirely 
free from all the dangers and annoyances of ravenous 
beasts. And, at the same time, it was so perfectly plain 
that the wayfaring men, though simpletons, were in no dan- 
ger of being misled on their march to the everlasting Zion.f 
This, I need hardly say, was all designed to illustrate the 
way of eternal blessedness under the peaceful and glorious 
reign of the Messiah. 

*1 Corinthians x: 1-12. f Isaiah xxxv: 8-9. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 29 

III. The same important truth is also very clearly taught 
in the actual developments of the Gospel. Its re- 

. * -, Argument 

quirements are all so very plain that no honest from tin- ac- 
man can well misunderstand his duty. For n^VsTf'the 
the sake of method and perspicuity, I will sim- Go8 P eI - 
ply request my readers to consider, by and for themselves, 

1. What is required in order to admission into the King- 
dom of Christ here on earth, such as faith, repentance, con- 
fession, and baptism ; and, 

2. The conditions of continued membership, and of ad- 
mission into God's everlasting Kingdom. For a summary 
of these, see 2 Peter i: 1-11. 

But connected with this wonderful simplicity of the Gos- 
pel plan of salvation, there is also in it a depth Great depth 

n • i • i n • i • • i • i and compre- 

oi meaning which no finite or uninspired mind h ensiveness 
can ever fully comprehend. of the Bible - 

Let me here appeal to the consciousness of my readers. 
Have you ever attempted to study a work of 

J L J Argument 

mere human genius, that, after making the from our own 

-.. . .. ■■ consciousness. 

necessary preliminary preparations, you have 
really felt that you could not master? Take, for instance, 
the writings of Plato or Aristotle; or, if you please, take 
the philosophy of Lord Bacon, or the Principia of Sir Isaac 
Xewton, or any other work of like character. Have you 
ever really, and with due preparation, tried to master such 
works of human genius? If so, are you not conscious of 
success, or, at least, of the ability to succeed? The effort 
may have cost you much labor, and, for a time, you may, 
perhaps, have given up the task as hopeless, for want of 
the necessary preliminary preparations. But, having made 
these, have you ever, after due and proper effort, really 
failed to understand any work of human genius? I pre- 
sume that most of you can truthfully answer this question 
in the negative. You feel conscious that you perfectly un- 



30 REASON AND REVELATION. 

derstand your grammar, your rhetoric, your logic, your phi- 
losophy, your arithmetic, your geometry, and even your cal- 
culus. 

But can you say the same of the Holy Bible? Have 
you ever fathomed its depths ? Have you ever risen from 
the study of this wonderful volume feeling conscious that 
you fully comprehend the entire range of thought that 
underlies the very plain but expressive words of its Au- 
thor? Or have you not, rather, discovered, by every such 
effort, that beneath what at first seemed to be the lowest 
depths, there are still others, opening wide and deep, that 
lie far beyond the grasp and compass of the human intel- 
lect? 

Just, for instance, as it is in the study of nature. When 

in this respect y ou be S in to stud 7 the Book of Nature, the 
the Bible is like whole truth seems to lie on the surface, or, at 

least, very near the surface. In fact, the mere 

child can understand and enjoy whatever of nature is most 

useful and most practical. But the greatest philosopher on 

earth has never sounded the depths of the immense ocean 

of truth that lies beneath its surface. 

Noiv, how is this wonderful combination of simplicity and 

Only way of ac- incomprehensibility in the Bible to be accounted 

counting for /. ^ 

this very re- J® r • 

markabiechar- Concede that the Author of Nature is also 

actensticof the 

Holy Bible. the Author of the Bible, and then all is plain, 
clear, and satisfactory. Every thing then follows just as 
we might reasonably anticipate. But how utterly unsatis- 
factory is every other conceivable hypothesis ! For eighteen 
hundred years, infidels of all schools have labored to explain 
this and other similar characteristics of the Holy Bible on 
the assumption that the whole Book is of human origin. 
But hitherto they have given us no solution of the prob- 
lem that is even satisfactory to themselves. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 31 

And, hence, we are again brought to the alternative that 
we must either ignore an axiomatic and funda- 

° , Conclusion. 

mental law of human belief, or, otherwise, we 

must conclude ^hat the Author of Nature is also the Author 

of the Bible. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE UNPARALLELED THEOLOGY OF THE BIBLE. 

That the Bible is of Divine origin, may also be proved 
from its unparalleled theology. There is in hu- Scope of tnird 
man nature a very marked and characteristic ar s ument - 
proneness to make itself the standard by which tendency ofhu- 
to judge of every thing else. This is seen, man nature - 

I. In the disposition and habit of most persons to esti- 
mate the motives and conduct of others by their iii ust rated by 
own. The mean, low, selfish man, for example, ourproneness 

' ' ' L 7 to judge of the 

can never properly appreciate a generous and motives of oth- 
benevolent action. He finds nothing in his 
own little, narrow, contracted, and selfish soul that corre- 
sponds with it. And this is, perhaps, after all, the main 
reason why the Gospel seems to be so very absurd to most 
infidels. It is entirely too benevolent for their standard of 
comparison. 

II. This same characteristic of human nature is also seen 
in all the theological systems of the heathen world, illustrated also 
"Like people, like gods," is true to every earth- Jjieathe^ 
born system of theology. Take, for example, tions - 

1. The theology of the ancient Greeks, the most en- 
lightened, elevated, and refined heathen nation Theology of the 
known in history. They excelled in all Greeks. 



32 REASON AND REVELATION. 

" Those polished arts that humanized mankind, 
Softened the rude, and calmed the boisterous mind." 

But, nevertheless, their theology was but a transcript of de- 
praved and fallen humanity. In it is clearly seen every 
element of man's sinful nature. Uranus, the most ancient 
of their gods, is said to have hated and imprisoned his own 
children. Saturn made war against his father Uranus, and 
also attempted to devour his own male children. But his 
son Jupiter drove him from Crete into Latium, where, for 
a long time, he remained concealed from his ambitious and 
revengeful offspring. In Greece was also worshiped Venus, 
the goddess of licentiousness ; Bacchus, the god of drunken- 
ness ; and many other gods and goddesses of like character. 
2. The ancient Scythians were cruel in the extreme. And 
Theology of the hence their gods, Odin, Thor, and other chief 
Scythians. divinities are said to have delighted in nothing 

so much as in scenes of blood. 

3. In Central Africa it is said that the idols 

Idols of Africa. , 

are all made black, and with flat noses, like 
their worshipers. 

Now how infinitely removed from all such human weak- 
The theology of nesses, follies, and sinful passions and propen- 
the Bible. sitieg ^ ig the Q od f fl^ Bible! I will not 

attempt to describe his character. This no uninspired man 
can do properly. But a few citations from the Holy Bible 
will sufficiently illustrate the great contrast of which I now 
speak. Read, for instance, the following passages, and care- 
fully compare what is therein said of Jehovah with the 
most favorable accounts that are anywhere given of the 
heathen deities: 
illustrations I- Genesis i— ii : 3. 

from the Old JJ ExoduS XX I 1-11. 

Testament. 

III. Deuteronomy xxxii. 

IV. Job xxxviii — xlL 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 



33 



Illustrations 
from the Old 
Testament. 



V. Psalm 1 and exxxix. 

VI. Isaiah xl: 12-31. 

VII. Habakkuk iii. 

Bat it is in the Scheme of Redemption, as it is fully de- 
veloped in the New Testament, that the perfections of God 
are most gloriously displayed and illustrated. Read, for 
example, the following passages : 

I. Matthew vi : 24-34. 

II. Luke xv : 11-32. 

III. John i: 1-14, and iii: 16, 17. 

IV. Actsxvii: 16-31. 
Y. Romans iii : 21-31, and xi : 33-36. 

VI. Philippians ii : 5-11. 

VII. Revelation, passim. 
These passages are sufficient to prove that 

the theology of the Bible is infinitely superior to 
that of any heathen nation, ancient or modern. 

How, then, is this great difference to be accounted for? 
How does it happen that the gods of Homer, 
Hesiod, and all other heathen writers, are char- 
acterized by every conceivable degree and kind 
of selfishness, ambition, pride, envy, jealousy, 
revenge, and all other degrading lusts, pas- 
sions, and propensities of the human heart; 
and that the God of the Bible is the only Divinity that is 
every-where represented as being infinite in power, knowl- 
edge, wisdom, justice, holiness, mercy, truth, and benevo- 
lence? It can not be owing to the superior logical and 
inventive powers of the Jews; for in this respect they cer- 
tainly did not excel the Greeks. Nor can it be accounted 
for on the hypothesis that the writers of the Old and the 
New Testament had a more active and fruitful imagination 
than the Greeks and Romans. Even if this were true, it 
would in no respect serve to remove the difficulty. For, be 
3 



Illustrations 
from the New 
Testament. 



Infinite supe- 
riority of the 
Bible theology. 



This difference 
not owing to 
any natural or 
acquired supe- 
riority of the 
Old and New 
Testament wri- 
ters. 



34 REASON AND REVELATION. 

it remembered, the imagination creates nothing. It simply 
forms, shapes, moulds, and modifies. It depends on percep- 
tion, memory, judgment, and other faculties for all the ma- 
terials and the elements of its so-called creations. If the 
elements so furnished are corrupt and impure, so likewise 
will be all its productions. See. for illustration, Ovid's 
Metamorphoses. 

The conclusion, then, is irresistible and unavoidable, that 
the Holy Scriptures are the Revelations of God 

Conclusion. . . 

himself, through that Spirit which searches all 
things; yea, the deep tilings of Jehovah. 



CHAPTER V 



SUPERIOR MORALITY OF THE BIBLE. 

The Divine origin of the Bible may be still further 
proved and illustrated by its superior morality. 
fourth argu- This may be demonstrated in four ways : 

I. By a comparison of the Heathen and 
Christian standards of morality. 

Four sources H- By the superior motives of the Christian 

of proof: system. 

III. By contrasting the actual state of morals in Heath- 
endom and Christendom. 

IV. By the still more elevating tendencies of the Chris- 
tian system. 

SECTION I.— Standards of Morality. 
mi „.„ It will, I presume, be generally conceded that 

The Bible stan- ? r J O J 

dard of right the will of God is the natural and only proper 
standard of all that is right, and pure, and vir~ 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 35 

tuons. If God is our Sovereign King and Lawgiver, it 
is of course his right to command, and it is our duty to 
obey. And hence the Scriptures require that all our actions 
shall be in harmony with God's will. " You are not your 
own," says Paul ; " for you are bought with a price ; there- 
fore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are 
God's."* And again, Christ says, " My meat is to do the 
will of Him that sent me, and to finish his work."f 

The ancient heathen philosophers generally admitted the 
correctness of this principle; they conceded that why the same 

.tiit i i .1 • , i standard could 

mortals should serve and obey the immortals. 110t he lldopted 
But the trouble was that Polytheism furnished *>y the heathen, 
no consistent and uniform standard of right. What was 
supposed to be according to the will of one god, was often 
inconsistent with the will of another. Ormudz and Ahri- 
man were irreconcilably opposed to each other. So, too, 
were Osiris and Typhon. And even Jupiter, Neptune, 
Pluto, Juno, Minerva, and other superior gods and god- 
desses of Greece and Pome, had their frequent wars and al- 
tercations. So testifies Homer, as well as most of the later 
Greek and Roman poets. Take, for instance, mustration 
the following illustration from the twentieth from the mad. 
book of the Iliad : 

"But when the Powers descending swelled the fight, 
Then tumult rose; fierce rage and pale affright 
Varied each face; then Discord sounds alarms, 
Earth echoes, and the nations rush to arms. 
Now through the trembling shores Minerva calls, 
And now she thunders from the Grecian walls. 
Mars, hovering o'er his Troy, his terror shrouds 
In gloomy tempest and a night of clouds: 
Now through each Trojan heart he fury pours 
With voice Divine from Ilion's topmost towers; 
Now shouts to Simois from the beauteous hill; 
The mountain shook, and rapid streams stood still. 

*1 Cor. vi: 19 and 20. fJohn iv: 34. 



36 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Above the sire of gods tbe thunder rolls, 
And peals on peals redoubled rend the polls. 
Beneath, stern Neptune shakes the solid ground; 
The forests wave and mountains nod around. 
Through all her summits tremble Ida's woods, 
And from their sources boil her hundred floods. 
Troy's turrets totter on the rocky plain; 
And the tossed navies beat the heaving main. 
Deep in the dismal regions of the dead, 
The infernal monarch reared his horrid head, 
Leaped from his throne, lest Neptune's arm should lay 
His dark dominions open to the day, 
And pour in light on Pluto's drear abodes, 
Abhorred by men, and dreadful e'en to gods. 
Such wars the immortals wage ; such horrors rend 
The world's vast concave, when the gods contend." 

From such discordant elements, then, it would, of course, 
be impossible to construct any thing like a consistent and 
uniform standard of rectitude. 

The heathen philosophers felt and acknowledged this dif- 

standardofthe ncu ^J? an d hence some of them proposed to 

riatonic make expediency the standard of rectitude. This 

was generally adopted by the Platonic school. 

But this was also found to be very defective. For, 

1. The people, as a matter of course, thought it very 
M . . expedient to worship and placate all their ac- 

Objections to it x L *■ 

as a standard of knowledged divinities. The Persians, for in- 
stance, thought it necessary to worship Ahriman, 
as well as Ormudz, and the Egyptians worshiped Typhon, 
as well as Osiris. In like manner, the Zabians worshiped 
their Shammael, and the Greeks and Romans worshiped 
and served the Dirse or Furies. 

2. A second objection to this as a standard of rectitude 
is, that its legitimate and necessary tendency is to make man- 
kind extremely selfish. This must ever, of necessity, be the 
effect of every system of ethics that makes self-interest the 
criterion by which to judge of every moral action. I need 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 37 

only add, on this point, that history fully sustains this & 
priori conclusion. 

Perceiving these difficulties and objections, some of the 
other schools of ancient philosophers proposed Nature an im- 
to follow nature as the only proper standard of ardof recti-" 
rectitude. But the difference between this and tude - 
the preceding is only nominal. Nature, as she is now de- 
filed and perverted by sin, would inevitably lead all her 
votaries into the same errors and inconsistencies. Thus, for 
instance, it is natural for all men to gratify their desire 
for wealth, power, and every thing else that in any way 
serves to administer to their depraved lusts, and passions, 
and appetites. 

And hence we are brought to the conclusion 

i ^, ...... 7 7 Conclusion. 

that Christianity furnishes the only proper and 
correct standard of morality. 

SECTION II. — Motives of Different Ethical 

Systems. 

The various systems of heathen morality were „ t . 

J J Heathen sys- 

as deficient in their motives to virtue as they were tems deficient 
with respect to their standards of rectitude. 

The motive of future rewards and punishments was 
almost wholly want in g in their schemes and Tr , 

J ° Heathen views 

systems of morality. The Cynics, Cyrenaics, of a future 
and Epicureans rejected the doctrine as absurd. 
Their chief maxim was, " Let us eat and drink, for to-mor- 
row we die." The Peripatetics and Stoics had no settled and 
well-defined views on this subject. And the same may be 
said of the Chinese. Indeed, Confucius, the great Corypheus 
of Chinese philosophy, seems to have had no faith whatever 
in the doctrine of a future state. He regarded the soul as a 
sort of subtle, refined, and attenuated matter, that forever 
perishes with the dissolution of the body. 



38 KEASON AND REVELATION. 

It is true that Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Cicero, and 
some others, believed in a state of future rewards and pun- 
ishments. But it is also true that they always failed in all 
their attempts to prove it to the conviction and satisfaction 
of the people. Their arguments were without the force of 
authority, and hence they accomplished but little for the 
good of the masses. 

But take away from mankind their belief in a state of 
, ^ . _ future rewards and punishments, and then all 

Insufficiency of *■ 7 

any and aii oth- remaining motives to virtue are utterly insum- 

er motives. . ... . . ., ~ 

cient to restrain their propensities to evil, oo 
testifies all history, as well as all sound philosophy. 

How wonderfully, then, Christianity contrasts, in this 
The superior respect, with all other schemes of religion and 
motives of the philosophy. It begins by revealing to us, as 
tem nius- our Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, Guide, and 

Exemplar, a Being of infinite justice, holiness, 
and benevolence. This is wisdom. We all feel the need 

of such a leader, and we have, doubtless, all 

First, by the ' 7 > 

character of felt the power and influence of the motives that 
prompt us to merit his love and approbation. 
If an illustration is wanting, I need only refer my readers 
to the influence of an Alexander, a Csesar, and a Napoleon 
over the many thousand admirers who cheerfully followed 
them to death or to victory. 

But this is not all. Christianity has brought life and 
secondly, by immortality to light. It gives to us, beyond 
the cieariy-re- a \i peradventure, the full assurance of a future 

vealed doctrine x 7 

of a future state of rewards and punishments, and it offers 
to us eternal life, on the condition of our living 
soberly, and righteously, and godly. This is as an anchor 
to our souls, reaching within the veil. It serves to elevate 
our thoughts and aspirations above all the perishing things 
of time and sense. We feel that this world is not our 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 39 

home — that we are here but pilgrims, traveling to a better 
country. 

SECTION III.— Actual State of Morals. 

Such, then, being the great difference between the mo- 
tives of these systems, we need not wonder that Actual state of 
there should also exist so great a difference in morals - 
the actual state of morality in Heathendom and Christendom. 

It would be a shame to speak of the many abominable 
and degrading vices that have ever been toler- , , 

o © ]. Among the 

ated, and even legalized, in the heathen world. Ancient Hea- 
Every student of ancient history is familiar 
with the scenes of debauchery, intemperance, and impurity 
that were always practiced in the Dionyssia of Bacchus, 
the Aphrodisia of Venus, the Lupercalia of Pan, the Thes- 
mophoria of Ceres, the Ludi Florales of Flora, the Kottitia 
of Kotis, and other similar obscene rites and ceremonies of 
the ancient Greeks and Romans. 

And all who are acquainted with the present condition 
of the heathen world know perfectly well that 

x J 2. Among the 

the state of morals is even now no better than Modem iiea- 
it was among the ancients. Indeed, it has been 
clearly proved by the testimony of missionaries, as well as 
by the acknowledgements of the heathen themselves, that 
Paul's description of the moral state of the Gentile world, 
given in the first chapter of his epistle to the Romans, is 
still a true and faithful picture of the moral condition of 
all nations that are without the light and influence of a rev- 
elation from God. 

Now, it must be confessed that, in all parts of Christen- 
dom, the standard of practical morality, as well 3# Amon? 
as the standard of practical piety, is entirely Chri8tians « 
too low. But, nevertheless, who will presume to say that 



40 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the cause of virtue has not been promoted by the influ- 
ence of Christianity wherever the Bible has been read? 
Contrast, for example, these United States with ancient 
Greece, and mark the difference between their state of 
morals. 



SECTION IV. — Superior and more Elevating Tend- 
encies of the Christian System of Morality. 

The contrast, then, between the existing moral condition 
Tendencies to °f Christendom and Heathendom is very great, 
a much greater j> u + nevertheless, the practical difference is not 

difference in 7 ' *■ 

practical mor- near so great as is the theoretical. And hence 

ality. 

it is, that there is a constant tendency to a still 
greater difference in their 'practical ethics. The reason of this 
The reasons of * s obvious. There is nothing in any scheme 
this - of heathen morality that can possibly serve to 

make mankind much, if any, better than they are. The 
natural and necessary tendency of all heathen systems is to 
selfishness and impurity. But let Christianity be carried 
out to perfection in the lives of its professors, and very 
soon we would have a heaven upon earth. 

How, then, is this superiority of Christian morality over 
These moral all heathen systems to be accounted for ? It 
distinctions can not ^ e 0Vf [ n p> to any natural superiority in 

not owing to o ./ ± j 

any difference the mental and moral endowments of Christians. 

dowments. In this respect they certainly do not excel the 

ancient Greeks and Romans. Nor can it be 

rsor can they 

be owing to owing to any superiority of our education, so far 

any difference #J , . , , . . 

of human cui- as- it respects any thing 01 merely human origin. 
ture. The ancient heathen philosophers spared no 



pains in getting the very best education that they possibly 
could. They traveled wherever they thought they could en- 
joy superior advantages. And hence the conclusion follows, 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 41 

as a logical necessity, that the morality of the \ 

& . . sy Conclusion. 

Bible, and of course the Bible itself, is from God. 

How careful then we should all be to study and to prac- 
tice this Divine scheme of morality and virtue. p rac ticaiiu- 
As we have the will of God so very clearly re- ference - 
vealed to us in the Holy Bible, how very diligent we should 
all be in perfecting our characters according to this Divine 
standard. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE SUPERNATURAL CHARACTER OF CHRIST. 

"What think you of Christ? Whose son is scope of the 
ke f "—Matthew xxii : 42. 8ixth cbapter - 

It is evident that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all 
wrote for the purpose of proving that Jesus of Testimony of 
Nazareth is the promised Messiah and Son of *J a " he 7\ 

■F Mark, Luke, 

the living God. And if we accept without and John con- 
abatement the facts which they have severally 
recorded concerning him, the evidence is entirely conclu- 
sive ; and we have, in their united testimony, a very clear 
and satisfactory answer to the proposed question. For as 
Nicodemus once said, No man could do the miracles that 
Jesus is said to have done, unless God were with him. But if 
God were with him, he must have honored God by speaking 
the truth. And if he spoke the truth he was the Messiah* 
But many so-called Rationalists of the nineteenth century 
are wont to reject and eliminate from this evi- Part of thi8 
dence all that is miraculous. This they do on testi n '° ny „ re " 

J jectcd by Ra- 

various grounds, and for various reasons. Strauss tionaifets. 
and other German Pantheists reject all miracles as a spe- 



42 REASON AND REVELATION. 

cries of absurd impossibilities. To this conclusion they are, 
Grounds of of necessity, brought by their own false system 
tfots to mr- of Philosophy. For, if God is the universe, 
a cles - and the universe is God, then indeed the super- 

natural is wholly out of the question. The French school 
of Eationalists do not go quite so far in their opposition to 
miracles as the German. Renan, for instance, does not say 
that a miracle is either an impossibility or an absurdity. 
He simply denies the credibility of the evidence. He al- 
leges that there is no satisfactory evidence that a miracle 
has ever been wrought. 
But nearly all modern skeptics of any pretensions to either 
learning or candor concede the general truth- 

Concession of ° J 

modem skep- fidness and credibility of the Gospel narratives. 
Renan compares them to the memoirs that four 
of Napoleon's old soldiers would write concerning the deeds 
and exploits of their admired and almost adored hero. We 
would all, he says, naturally expect that their narratives 
would contain many very great exaggerations. But no one 
would think of calling into question their general truthful- 
ness. And just so he thinks of the four narratives of Mat- 
thew, Mark, Luke, and John. In his estimation, all the 
miracles reported are to be regarded as exaggerations or 
perversions of the real facts. But that they are, in the 
main, trustworthy, he assumes and maintains for the fol^ 
lowing reasons: 

1. Because they contain all the internal marks and other 
His reasons for evidences of authentic history. Such, for in- 
Gospei narra- stance, as the minuteness and particularity of 
tivesasinthe & ^ fofafa . ^^ una ff ec ted air of candor 

main autnen- ' 

tic - and naturalness; their many undesigned coin- 

cidences; and their general harmony with the well-known 
customs, manners, literature, and other circumstances of the 
age and country in which they were written. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 43 

2. Because many of the main facts recorded in these nar- 
ratives are also given by Philo, Josephus, Tacitus, the au- 
thors of the Talmud, and other contemporary and later 
historians. 

For these and other similar reasons the authenticity and 
general fidelity of the four Gospel narratives are now con- 
ceded by Kenan and many others who deny their inspira- 
tion, and who reject as spurious, or as an exaggeration, 
every thing in them that claims to be miraculous. 

But is their position tenable? Can we consistently re- 
ceive as true that which is natural in these The natural 
narratives; and reject as false all that claims *a tura i " P tiie 
to be supernatural ? I think not, for several GospeI narra - 

1 ' tives can not be 

reaSOnS : separated. 

I. Because the natural and the supernatural are so re- 
lated and so blended together in these narratives, First because 
that they must both either stand or fall together, they are t0 ° in " 

f J J timatelyblend- 

The miracles recorded are not a sort of mere ed together as 

i -i. -i.i .-, n i,.i cause and effect. 

episode or appendix, like the fane rhetorical 
speeches that were often introduced into their narratives, by 
ancient historians, for the sake of ornament, or for the pur- 
pose of producing a sensation. They are an essential part 
of the narrative itself, and are absolutely necessary to ac- 
count for most of the other events with which they stand 
connected. How, for instance, can we account for the al- 
most unbounded influence that Christ had over the multi- 
tudes, save on the hypothesis that he wrought many real 
miracles among them ? Renan concedes the wonderful ex- 
tent of this influence; and he farther admits that in order 
to this, he must have been a man of colossal proportions. 
But he thinks that the people were deceived. Kenan's expia- 
He alleges that the captivating influence of ShSJ.°Uu- 
-Tesus over the multitudes was so overwhelm- ted niiracles - 
Lag that they were perfectly overcome by it, and that, as a 



44 REASON AND REVELATION. 

consequence, they were often led to mistake the natural for 
the supernatural. A man, for instance, prostrated by nerv- 
ous debility, would be relieved and the demon cast out by 
the mere presence, or look, or word, or touch of Jesus. And 
by working a few such cures, his fame would soon spread 
abroad as a wonderful Thaumaturgist. 
obections to This hypothesis is objectionable chiefly for two 

Renan's expla- reaSOnS t 
nation. . 

1. It is not to be supposed that a person of 
it is incon- Christ's unostentatious and truth-loving disposi- 

Bistentwith © r 

Christ's char- tion would have indulged the people in so false 
an impression of his true character and preten- 
sions. That the people believed he wrought real miracles is 
evident. This much Renan concedes. That Christ, more- 
over, knew they entertained such an opinion of him is also 
evident. And that he would have corrected this impres- 
sion, had it been erroneous, is just as evident. 

2. In this hypothesis the objector assumes that the 
it is inconsist- people were incapable of undeceiving them- 
known facts of selves, by properly testing the nature and char- 
the case. acter of the wonders wrought by Christ. This 

is a purely groundless assumption. It has not even the 
shadow of evidence for its support. For most of the 
miracles of Christ were of such a nature that any man 
of ordinary intelligence and capacity could decide as to 
their real character, as well as the most learned sage or 
philosopher. Take, for example, the healing of Peter's 
mother-in-law, the curing of many lepers, the feeding of 
the multitudes, the healing of cripples, and the giving of 
sight to those who had been blind from their birth. To 
judge of such plain and palpable facts, wrought openly, 
and in the presence of thousands, certainly required no 
extraordinary degree of either logical skill or philosophi- 
cal acumen. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 45 

II. To separate the natural from the supernatural, in such 
eases, is further impossible ; because, even on the The natural 
concessions of Renan and his school, Christ is, cannotbesep- 

t7-t/«7 /*77«7 mi • arated from the 

really, himself the greatest of all miracles. Inis supernatural 
is evident from the following considerations : uvesXcause 1 " 

1. These men concede that Christ had not in Christ is ,lim - 

self the greatest 

his whole nature one particle of selfishness. On of an miracles, 
page 90 of Renan's "Life of Jesus," the author ThiB is imp]ied 
savs, in substance, as follows : " He was free from first ' in his en - 

tire freedom 

all selfishness, the source of our sorrows; and he fromseinsh- 
thought only of his work, of his race, and of 
humanity." This testimony is evidently true. But how can 
Ave account for this very remarkable characteristic of Jesus? 
If we examine the history of all past ages, and narrowly scru- 
tinize and investigate the character of the living age, we will 
find that selfishness is invariably one of the first developed 
characteristics of the infant mind. But what is thus univer- 
sal must be natural. So we reason in reference to all the 
powers, characteristics, and susceptibilities of the human soul. 
But Christ had no selfishness, Mr. Renan himself being 
judge. And hence we conclude, of necessity, that he was not 
a natural, but a supernatural, personage. 

2. Another very marked characteristic of Christ was 
his entire freedom from all Jewish prejudices, secondly, in his 

7 /• 77 ,7 ,. /. 7 . /. 7»7 freedom from 

<tii>i from all other partisan jeelings oj every land. all party prcju . 
Even on Renan's representation of the case, dices - 
he was a philanthropist without an equal in the entire his- 
tory of our race. Rising not only above every thing that 
is selfish, but also above every thing that is merely national 
or sectional, he embraced the world in his sympathies and 
in his schemes of benevolence. 

This is evident from his memoirs, and also from the scope 
and character of the religion that he came to establish. But 
how is all this to be accounted for? He was born and ed- 
ucated among a people of as strong party prejudices and 



46 REASON AND REVELATION. 

sectional jealousies and antipathies as any other people of 
ancient or modern times. How, then, did it happen that 
lie alone of all the great and good of earth rose above all 
such influences, and embraced within the scope of his be- 
nevolence not only every nation, but even every individual 
of our poor fallen race? Does not this, of itself, clearly 
demonstrate his supernatural character? Why, then, ask 
for another sign from heaven, when we have, in the person 
of Jesus, so many evidences of the miraculous? 

3. Christ was also, as Renan concedes, free from all 
Thirdly, in his worldly ambition. He aimed, it is true, at uni- 

freedom from -\ -t • . i , i • 

aii worldly am- versal dominion, but his empire was an em- 
bition. p- re f sou i s# it W as an empire for the liber- 

ation, and emancipation, and salvation of the spirits of all 
men. It was as far above the political and selfish monarchies 
of Nebuchadnezzar, and Cyrus, and Alexander, and Caesar, 
and, I may add, the politico-ecclesiastical monarchy that 
the Jews themselves anticipated, as the benevolence of God 
is above the selfishness of men. 

And here, as the author of " Ecce Homo " very justly re- 
marks, " we scarcely know which to admire most, the pro- 
digious originality of his conceptions, or his entire freedom 
from all worldly ambition in the execution of his plans." * 
Both, however, alike serve to demonstrate his own Divinity; 
and hence to present him to the world as the greatest of all 
miracles. Nothing strictly identical with either of these 
characteristics of Jesus has ever distinguished a fallen son 
of Adam. Even after his scheme has been conceived, and 
his kingdom established among men, there is not found, 
among all the followers of Christ, enough of his Spirit to 
preserve his original plan from the degrading influences of 
a selfish and worldly ambition. For the proof and illus- 
tration of this, I need only refer to the past history of 

* This is not designed as a general commendation of Ecce Homo. Its 
tendencies are rationalistic. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 47 

the Church, and to the present ambitious and semi-political 
schemes of most Papal and Protestant parties. 

4. Renan furthermore concedes, what is indeed evident 
from the united testimony of the four Evangel- Fourthly, in 
ists, that Christ never expressed a doubt on any from ail doubt 
subject, and that his speeches and addresses cost a °" e n i J h t e ion ' 
him no effort. Other great men labored much, most difficult 

. 1 questions. 

and were, nevertheless, always in doubt; and 
very frequently expressed their doubts. Even the teachings 
of Socrates abound with such expressions as the following : 
"If death is a removal hence to another place, compared in 
and if what is said of death be true, etc., then thi * r ! spec ; 

J 7 with bocrates 

those who live in Hades are henceforth immor- and other phi- 
tal." Among the last words of Socrates are 
the following : " But the hour of separation has come. I go 
to die ; you to live. But which of us is destined to an im- 
proved being is concealed from every one except God."* 
How very unlike these are the last words of Jesus to the 
dying thief that was perishing at his side : " To-day shalt 
thou be with me in Paradise."f 

How, then, shall we account for this perfect consciousness 
of knowing the truth on all occasions, and which gave to 
the discourses of Christ an air of authority and This differeuce 
certainty which is without a parallel in the his- chtistTsupe - 
tory and literature of the world ? It can not be rior educati0Q . 
explained on the ground of his superior learning and educa- 
tion. For he was probably never at school in his life ; and 
it is evident he read very little except what is contained in 
the Old Testament. 

Nor can it be explained on the ground of his greater 
experience. Socrates was about seventy years 

o li-iii^ Nortohi3 

of age when he drank the fatal cup, and Christ greater exped- 
was only thirty-three and a half years old when 

* Apol. vol. I, p. 79. | Luke xxiii: 43. 



48 REASON AND REVELATION. 

he was crucified. Plato, Pythagoras, and many other an- 
cient philosophers traveled over the civilized world in quest 
of wisdom and knowledge; but Christ very seldom went 
beyond the narrow limits of his own native Palestine. 
Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, Epicurus, and other ancient sages 
did little else from their youth than study books and listen 
to the wisdom of the learned ; but Christ worked at the car- 
penter business until he was about thirty years of age ; and 
then he entered at once on his public ministry, and com- 
menced the discussion of the most difficult subjects, without 
books, without instructors, without the advantages of for- 
tune and the patronage of the great ; and, in a word, with- 
out any of those extraneous aids and helps that serve to 
give confidence, and authority, and success to most public 
instructors. 

JSTor, again, can this remarkable difference between Christ 
Nor can it be and all other public teachers be explained on 
on tiiTground the ground of Christ's superior talents and abil- 
of his superior j^ es as a ma n. Nothing short of infinite wis- 

talents as a . 

man. doni and knowledge will fully meet and satisfy 

the demands and requirements of the case. No elevation of 
mere finite intelligence can give to any man the confidence 
and the authority with which Christ always spoke of God, 
of the human soul, and of the spiritual universe generally. 
To the most exalted human genius the discovery of any 
truth always reveals one or more mysteries. And hence it 
is that the greatest sages have always been the greatest 
doubters. But Christ never doubted. Why, then, among 
all the many millions of our race, does he stand alone in 
this respect? We search in vain for any other satisfactory 
explanation of this matter than that which has 

Conclusion. x . . 

been given by the sacred writers, viz., that Jesus 
of Nazareth was himself God manifest in the flesh. Why, 
then, should it be thought incredible that HE should raise 



concessions are 
virtually an 

end v\' the con- 
troversy. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 49 

the dead, cast out demons, heal the sick, feed the hungry, 
and clothe the naked? 

Here, then, we might safely rest the whole controversy. 
For, if Christ was without selfishness, without The foregoing 
party prejudices, without worldly ambition, and 
without doubt and hesitation on any and all 
subjects, he must have been infinitely perfect in 
every respect ; for the possession of any one perfect virtue 
implies, of necessity, the possession of every other. 

But this is going a little further than any of the skep- 
tical authors referred to are willing to go. Renan, New- 
man, and others freelv concede that Jesus was w M 

» Further allega- 

the greatest and best of his race.* But, at the tions of skep- 

, ,, ,1 r, p. i tical writers. 

same time, they allege tnat he was far from be- 
ing sinless.f 

It may, therefore, be well to look a little further into this 
matter, in order that we may see whether there really is, 
in the whole life and character of Christ, a single spot, or 
blemish, or imperfection of any kind. If there is, it seems 
to me that it would be an easy matter to discover it j for his 
was a life of entire publicity. He ever taught in the syna- 
gogues and on the streets, so that whatever he did, and what- 
ever he said, was subject to the scrutiny and investigation of 
his enemies, as well as of his friends. And if his confident 
and authoritative manner was, as most skeptics Christ's course 

n ,i -i, -!_«>• /> of life not to be 

now allege, the result and offspring of an ar- explained on 
dent and boundless enthusiasm, it would cer- 
tainly not be long until he would commit a 
series of blunders and mistakes that would have to be cor- 
rected. This, I need not say, is the history, not only of all 

■All ages will proclaim that, among the sons of men, there were none 
born greater than Jesus." — Renaris Life of Christ, p. 376. See also pp. 
90, 102, 106, 241, and 367. 
f Renan, p. 375. 

4 



the ground of 
his ardent en- 
thusiasm. 



50 REASON AND REVELATION. 

enthusiasts, but also of even the most calm and deliberate 
sages that have ever attempted the reformation of any part 
or portion of our race. 

How, then, was it with Jesus? Did he ever, like Socra- 
tes, Plato, Aristotle, and other great philosophers and re- 
formers, confess that he had made a mistake or committed 
an error of any kind? Did he ever change his plans and 
purposes in consequence of the opposition of his enemies, 
the force of circumstances, or from any other consideration 
whatever? Never! never! Had he done so, his foes might 
well have triumphed. It would at once have betrayed a 
weakness and an imperfection inconsistent with his high 
claims as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. But, 
thank God! no such indication of imperfection is found in 
his entire history. During his whole life, he never took 
back a single word that he had uttered, nor did he ever at- 
tempt to correct any thing that he had ever done. 

But it may, perhaps, be said that this was owing to his 
Nor on the pride of consistency ; that great men never like 
hmof consist- to expose their weakness by confessing their 
ency. mistakes. This is, no doubt, to some extent, 

true of all erring men, and especially of those who desire 
to maintain their authority and influence with the people. 
But this does not prevent others from discovering their mis- 
takes, and exposing their errors. Has any one, then, dis- 
covered an error in the whole life and teachings of Christ? 
His purposes and his doctrines have been before the world 
for eighteen hundred years. During all this long period, 
then, has any one discovered an error in his manner of 
No defect in hie * eacnm g> or lXi n i s principles of morality, or in 
manner of his scheme of philanthropy? Not one. His 

style of speaking and teaching is still the won- 
der and admiration of the world. And every honest skeptic 
is still compelled to exclaim, with the officers that were once 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 51 

sent by the Sanhedrim to apprehend Jesus, "Never man 
spake like this man." 

His principles of morality are also acknowledged to be 
faultless. Since his coronation in the heavens, XT . , . 

' JSo error in bis 

Seneca, Cudworth, Paley, Mackintosh, and many principles of 
other profound thinkers, have given to the world 
their systems of ethics and codes of morality. But the im- 
perfections of all these are now manifest. How, then, does 
it happen that in the morality of Jesus not a single error 
has ever been detected ? 

And what shall I say of his scheme of philanthropy ? 
It, too, has had many rival systems, some of XT . .. 

J * ' None in his 

them devised by men of profound learning and scheme of p m- 
of towering genius. But they, too, have been 
mostly buried with their authors. And Christianity is, 
really, the only scheme of reformation worthy of the name 
that now challenges the sympathies and suffrages of man- 
kind. True, indeed, it has often been most grossly per- 
verted by its nominal friends and supporters. But for this 
Jesus was not responsible. Nor does it imply any defect in 
Christianity itself. In this respect it has only suffered like 
all the other best gifts of God to man. But, nevertheless, 
it still stands as an abiding and ever-living monument of 
the infinite knowledge, and wisdom, and benevolence of its 
Divine Author. Even the skeptical Renan is Renan > s con . 
constrained to admit, in substance, that all that cessions - 
is now necessary to convert the world into a paradise, and 
all mankind into one glorious and happy brotherhood, is 
the universal adoption of primitive Christianity.* 

If, then, we may judge the tree by its fruit, the charac- 
ter of Jesus is certainly, in all respects, pure 

J 7 r 7 x Conclusion 

and spotless. But no, says Renan, " He was far from the P rem. 
from being sinless." I find, however, in his en- 

*Renan's Life of Jesus, pp. 365-367. 



52 REASON AND REVELATION. 

tire " Life of Jesus " but two specifications of what lie seems 

to regard as imperfections in Christ's character. The first 

of these is an expression of mingled grief, pity, 

Kenan's speci- r ° # ° J r J J 

ncations of ai- and compassion, and, as Renan thinks, of impa- 
tions in the tience, with respect to the multitude, when, on 
life and char- one occas i on ne exclaimed, with deep emotion, 

acter ot Christ. ' ? r 7 

" faithless and perverse generation ! how long 
shall I be with you f how long shall I bear with you f "* And 
the second he regards as a manifestation of vain pleasure, 
when on his entry into Jerusalem, on the Monday before his 
crucifixion, he heard from the surrounding multitudes shouts 
and hosannas addressed to himself as the Son of David, f 

But in these two instances is the imperfection in Christ, or 
Refutation of is it in Mr. Renan's own judgment and iniagin- 
these charges. at i on ? Why does he not also find fault with 
God as the Governor of the Universe, when, in his right- 
eous indignation, he hurls upon the unbelieving and dis- 
obedient the thunderbolts of his wrath and the fires of his 
indignation ? And why does he not also censure the same 
infinitely-glorious and perfect Being, because he too hears 
with pleasure and complacency the songs and supplications 
of his adoring children? Manifestly, the error is in Mr. 
Renan himself, and not in Jesus. Had he looked upon 
Christ as he really was and is, God manifest in the flesh, he 
would have seen, in these manifestations of feeling, no indi- 
cations of weakness or imperfection. 

How pure and spotless, then, must be the character of our 
blessed and adorable Redeemer! For eighteen 

Conclusion. , ° 

hundred years argus-eyed infidelity has scru- 
tinized it most carefully and most diligently, without find- 
ing in it a single blemish or imperfection ! How vain a 
thing it is, then, for infidels to object to the miracles of 
Christ, while he himself stands before us the greatest mira- 
* Matthew xvii: 17. t Matthew xxi: 8-16. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 53 

cle that the universe has ever beheld, and, at the same time, 
the greatest blessing that God has ever bestowed on man. 
Without him what is life, and what is every thing else be- 
sides ? Take away his name and his influence from our 
race, and who can describe its wretchedness ! But let him 
only be received into every heart, and then all is glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and good-will 
among all men. 

But if Jesus is Divine, then indeed the Bible is certainly 
of Divine origin; for the testimony of Jesus is its scope 
from its alpha to its omega. 



CHAPTER VII. 

EXISTENCE AND PREVALENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 

SECTION I. — Triumphs of the Gospel a proof of its 
Divine Origin. 

The next argument that I shall introduce to prove the 
Divine origin of the Bible is derived from the Scope of the 
existence, progress, and prevalence of Chris- seventh chap- 
tianity. 

That Christianity is now an existing reality of great power 
and influence in the world, no one will deny. 

, ... Conceded facts. 

And, moreover, that it owes its origin, progress, 
and triumphs to some adequate and sufficient cause, no one 
will presume to deny. And hence the whole ar- Gist of the con . 
gument is simply reduced to the question, What troversy - 
is that cause ? Is it human, or is it Divine ? 

Admit the claims of Christianity, and then all follows as 
a matter of course. We have then embraced The claims of 
within our premises all the power, the wisdom, Christianity 

*- L p ' furnish a cause 

and the benevolence that are necessary to account f«ay adequate 

, . ... . , and sufficient. 

tor every thing pertaining to it as a scheme and 



54 REASON AND REVELATION. 

system of religion. For Divine power and wisdom are, of 
course, sufficient to accomplish any thing that is really great 
and good. 

But deny the claims of Christianity ; assume that it is of 
No other cause human origin, and then how shall we account 

adequate to ex- f QY g^ f actg ag fa e following : 

plain the ° 

change of hab- I. The great change of habits and new modes 
primitwr of life to which the primitive Christians very gen- 

Christians. ^^ momitte( l 

The force of habit is very great. And hence there is in 
Difficulty of every people a strong inclination to adhere to the 
reSus ? hawts religion of their fathers.* Indeed, the history 
of any people. f tne world clearly proves that extraordinary 
power has always been necessary to effect a religious change 
or revolution in any portion of the human race ; and hence 
we find that the Greeks and Romans very wisely permitted 
the several tribes and nations that they conquered to worship 
their own gods. 

But a change from one false religion to another is a small 
stiii greater matter compared with the change from any sys- 
difficuity of f- em £ £j se re ]igion to Christianity. In the 

converting ° » 

them to chris- former case it is a mere change of forms and 
ceremonies. The heart is not affected. Its evil 
passions and propensities all remain, and are all gratified as 
before. But in the latter case it is wholly different. One 
of the very first things required of every Christian is to 
deny himself, to take up his cross, to crucify the flesh with 
its affections and its lusts, and henceforth to live soberly, 
and righteously, and godly. This is a change that has never 
yet been effected by mere human power and authority. 
Actual change But the primitive Christians very generally 
of nfe and hab- submitted most willingly and cheerfully to these 

its among the o J J 

primitive extraordinary claims. Their former habits were 

Christians. ,, , -. , t»'i*n 

abandoned, and new rules of lite were at once 
11. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 55 

adopted. For the proof of this, I need only refer my read- 
ers to the historians of the first, second, third, and fourth 
centuries. And, for the present, I will trouble you with 
but a single quotation from the infidel but accomplished 
Lucian. He was born in Samosata, in Syria, Testimony of 
about A. D. 120. He was first a sculptor, Lucian - 
then an advocate, then a teacher of rhetoric and philos- 
ophy, and after that he was appointed to some political 
office in Egypt. He traveled extensively through Syria, 
Greece, Gaul, Italy, and Northern Africa, and had, there- 
fore, the very best opportunities of becoming acquainted 
with the lives and habits of Christians living in all these 
countries during the second century. Concerning them he 
writes as follows: 

"It is incredible," he says, "what expedition they use 
when any of their friends are known to be in trouble. In 
a word, they spare nothing on such an occasion. For these 
miserable men have no doubt that they will be immortal, 
and live forever. And, therefore, they contemn death, and 
surrender themselves to sufferings. Moreover, their first 
Lawgiver has taught them that they are all brethren when 
they have once turned and renounced the gods of the Greeks 
and worship this Master of theirs, who was crucified, and 
when they engage to live according to his laws. They 
have also a sovereign contempt for all things of this world, 
and look upon them as common." * 

Now, I ask, How is all this to be accounted for? Con- 
cede that the Bible is the Word of God, that _ _„. 

' Cause of this 

the miracles recorded in it really occurred, and extraordinary 
that all the writers of the Old and the New 
Testament spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, 
and then all is plain, simple, and natural. But on any 
other hypothesis, how can these great changes be accounted 
* Lucianus de Morte Perigrini, tome i, p. 565, ed. Graev. 



56 REASON AND REVELATION. 

for ? I will leave the reader to reflect on this matter while 
I proceed to notice, 

Patience of the II. The persecutions that these primitive Chris- 
derteTsecn- 11 ' tians patiently endured from both Jews and Gen- 
tions - tiles. 

The Jews opposed and persecuted the Christians because 
why the jews they felt sure that Christianity, as it was pro- 
chrLt P and his claimed and taught by the Apostles, was op- 
foiioweis. posed to all their schemes and theories of relig- 

ion, and they knew, therefore, that its success would soon put 
an end to all their hopes and expectations as Jews. They 
were all looking for a great politico-ecclesiastical leader who 
would free them from every foreign yoke, and extend their 
religion and empire to the ends of the earth. And hence 
their deep hatred and uncompromising hostility to Him who 
refused to wear an earthly crown ; who was the man of sor- 
rows, and acquainted with grief. And hence, too, their 
deadly hatred of all his followers. 

The Gentiles were also violently opposed to the Chris- 
Twofoid tian religion because it was opposed to all their 

ti^hostiiity 611 " schemes of religion and philosophy, and also 
and opposition. on accoun t f its own inflexible and uncompro- 
mising character. And hence, for about three hundred 
Persecutions years, most of the Roman emperors, statesmen, 
"heTnoinar" philosophers, priests, and populace endeavored 
emperors. to Sll pp re ss it. From A. D. 64 to A. D. 313, 

it is generally conceded that ten persecutions were waged 
against the Christians by the authority of the Eoman gov- 
ernment.* But all these afflictions were patiently endured 
by the Christians. 

How, then, I ask again, is all this to be accounted 
for? 

*Wacldington's Church History, pp. 58-69; and Lardner's Credibility, 
Vol. viii, p. 335, Lond. edit. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 57 

We might here allow this question to take a very wide 
range, and call in to our aid many witnesses. But it is 
generally best to bring every question within as narrow lim- 
its as possible. And I therefore propose the The question 
following trilemma as a plain, simple, and yet ^dl'/tht 
strictly logical statement of all the points at is- form of a tn- 

lemma. 

sue. I affirm, then, that the Apostles and the 
other early propagators of Christianity were, 

1. Either deceivers; 

2. Or they were themselves deceived; 

3. Or they were true men, and spoke as they were moved by 
the Holy Spirit. 

But they could not have been deceivers : 

1. Because they had no conceivable motive They were not 

•> deceivers. 

or inducement to be such. Many of them gave 

up all their property, and willingly died as martyrs to the 

truth. 

2. Because all their teachings were directly opposed to 
to every thing like falsehood and deception. 

Nor could they be deceived. For, They ™ Te not 

•■' ' deceived. 

1. The miracles and other facts recorded were 
generally of such a nature that all men might easily judge 
of them by their senses. Such, for example, was the mir- 
acle of Christ's resurrection, the healing of lepers, giving 
sight to the blind, and, indeed, most of the other miracles 
wrought by Christ and his Apostles. 

2. These miracles were performed publicly, and in the 
presence of many witnesses, so that thousands of the ene- 
mies, as well as of the friends and supporters of Christianity, 
had every conceivable opportunity of judging for themselves 
in these matters. 

3. It is positively absurd to suppose that the Apostles 
and others, who wrought those miracles, could be deceived 
in the exercise of their spiritual gifts. 



58 REASON AND REVELATION. 

And hence we are constrained, by a logical necessity, to 
conclude that the Apostles and the other early pro- 

Conclusion. m u ± 

claimers and propagators of Christianity spoke 
the truth as the Spirit gave them utterance; and, consequently, 
that the Bible is of God, and that the Gospel is the power of 
God for the salvation of every one that believeth. 

SECTION II. — Christianity and Mahomet anism 
Compared. 

Just here we are met with an objection arising out of the 
objection aris- successes and triumphs of Mahometanism. It 
ing out of the j s a lW e d that Mahometanism is also an exist- 

euccesses of ° 

Mahometan- ing reality ; that its votaries are nearly half as 
numerous as are the advocates of Christianity; 
and yet that it is, nevertheless, nothing more than a splen- 
did falsehood. And hence it is inferred that Christianity 
may also be false, notwithstanding all its triumphs over the 
world, and the flesh, and the devil. 

This is plausible, but wholly fallacious. The objection is 
_ „ . founded on an assumed parallelism which has 

Fallacious x 

ground of this no existence in fact. This is obvious from the 

objection. . 

following considerations : 

I. Christianity requires of all her votaries that they deny 
Points of differ- themselves all ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
^ c ^tween an( j t h at fa^ \[ ve soberly, and righteously, 
and Mahomet- and godly in this present world ; but Mahomet- 
anism grants to her disciples the almost unbri- 
dled and unrestricted gratification of their lusts and appe- 
tites.* 

II. Christianity never drew the sword, either offensive- 
ly or defensively. She depends wholly and solely on the 
power of truth. But Mahometanism never made much 

* Sale's Koran, chap, iii, p. 54; Gibbon, vol. vi, p. 322. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 59 

progress till the sword was drawn in its behalf. During 
the first three years of his public ministry, Mahomet made 
only fourteen proselytes.* And during the twelve years 
that he labored to accomplish his ends through diplomacy 
and moral suasion, he accomplished but little. But then 
the sword was drawn, and the terrible alternatives of death, 
tribute, or Islamism were offered to the conquered.f 

III. The early opposition of the Arabians to Mahomet- 
anism was nothing in comparison with that which Chris- 
tianity had to encounter. True, indeed, from A. D. 613 to 
A. D. 622, Mahomet was opposed to the Koreish of Mecca; 
and in A. D. 622 he was forced to flee to Medina. But 
what was all this compared with the losses and persecu- 
tions of the primitive Christians ? During the first month 
of the Dioclesian persecution, it is estimated that about one 
hundred and eleven thousand Christians perished without 
resistance ; and during the entire ten years of its continu- 
ance, it is supposed that about seven hundred thousand per- 
ished in Egypt alone. Such opposition would have crushed 
Mahometanism at once. 

TV. Christianity has always flourished most in the light, 
and Mahometanism in darkness. So teaches the entire his- 
tory of the two institutions. 

Other points of difference might easily be stated. But 
these are abundantly sufficient to expose the fallacy of the 
objection. For, as the learned and thoughtful Paley re- 
marks, in speaking on this very subject, "The Remarks of 
success of Mahometanism bears so little resem- Paley - 
blance to the early propagation of Christianity, that no in- 
ference whatever can be justly drawn to the prejudice of 
the Christian argument. For what are we comparing ? A 
Galilean peasant, accompanied by a few fishermen, with a 
conqueror at the head of an army. We compare Jesus 

* Gibbon, vol. vi, p. 324, Lond. edition. f Gibbon, vol. vi, p. 333. 



60 REASON AND REVELATION. 

without force, without power, without support, without one 
external circumstance of attraction or influence prevailing 
against the prejudices, the learning, the hierarchy of his 
country ; against the ancient religious opinions, the pompous 
religious rites, the philosophy, the wisdom, the authority of 
the Roman empire in the most polished and enlightened pe- 
riod of its existence ; we compare him with Mahomet making 
his way among Arabs, collecting followers in the midst of 
conquests and triumphs in the darkest ages and countries 
of the world, and when success in arms not only operated 
by that command of men's wills and persons which attends 
prosperous undertakings, but was also considered as a sure 
testimony of Divine approbation. That multitudes, per- 
suaded by this argument, should join the train of a victori- 
ous chief; that still greater multitudes should, without any 
argument, bow down before irresistible power, is a course 
of conduct in which we can not see much to surprise us — in 
which we can see nothing that resembles the causes by which 
the establishment of Christianity was effected. 

The success, therefore, of Mahometanism stands not in 
the way of our conclusion : that the propagation of Christi- 
anity, in the manner and under the circumstances in which 
it was propagated, is a unique in the history of our species. 
A Jewish peasant overthrew the religion of the world.* 

And hence it follows that we must either ignore the law of 
casualty as an axiomatic and fundamental law of 

Conclusion. ** 

human belief, or otherwise we must concede that 
the Bible is from God. Reason furnishes no other alternative. 
* Paley's Evidences, p. 419, Nairne's edit. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 61 



CHAPTEK VIII. 

FULFILLED PROPHECY. 

SECTION I. — Nebuchadnezzar's Vision of the Stone 
and the Image. 

About the year 607, B. C, Nebuchadnezzar being then 
associated with his father Nabopolassar, in the introductory 
government of Babylon, came up against Jeru- circumstances - 
salem, made Jehoiakim, king of Judah, his vassal, and car- 
ried many of the Jews captive to Babylon, among whom 
were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Two years 
after this Nebuchadnezzar became sole monarch of the em- 
pire •* and in the second year of his reign, that is, about 603, 
B. C, he had, according to Daniel, the following vision r 
" Thou, king, sawest, and behold a great image. This 

great image, whose likeness was excellent, stood 

7 7 7 7/- /. .77 The vision - 

before thee; and the form thereof teas terrible. 

This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms 

of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his 

feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a 

stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image on its 

feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then 

was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken 

to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer 

threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no 

place was found for them : and the stone that smote the image 

* See Jahn's History of the Hebrew Commonwealth, p. 134. 



62 REASON AND REVELATION. 

became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." — Dan- 
iel ii: 31-35. 

Of this vision, Daniel also gave the following interpreta- 
its interprets tion : " Thou, Icing, art a king of kings: for 
tion - the God of heaven has given thee a kingdom, 

power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the chil- 
dren of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of 
heaven hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler 
over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee 
shall arise another kingdom, inferior to thee; and another 
third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the 
earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron : for- 
asmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: 
and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces 
and bruise. And whereas thou saivest the feet and toes, part 
of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; 
but there shall be in it the strength of the iron, forasmuch 
as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the 
toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the king- 
dom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas 
thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle them- 
selves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave themselves 
one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in 
the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king- 
dom, which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall 
not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and 
consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. For- 
asmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the 
mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, 
the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God 
hath made known to the king what shall come to pass here- 
after. And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof 
sure." — Daniel ii: 37-45. 

From the preceding record it appears, 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 63 

I. That the image described was but a sym- _ . .. . 

t> J Symbolical 

bol of four universal monarchies, of which the meaning of the 
Babylonian or Chaldean was the first in order. 

II. That the stone cut out of the mountain without hands 
was also a symbol of another monarchy, which Svmbolical 

is here called the Kingdom of Heaven; but meaning of the 
which was of an order very different from the 
four preceding. 

More than twenty-four centuries have passed away since 
this vision was revealed and interpreted by Daniel. What, 
then, does history record concerning it? Have intervening 
events served to place Daniel among the true or the false 
prophets? Let us inquire. And observe, 

I. That the epoch from which the chronology of this 
vision is reckoned is by the interpretation fixed The head of 
at the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, sold representa 

& ^ & & the Chaldean 

" TIiou art this head of gold ." Here the empe- Monarchy. 
ror is, by a common figure of prophecy, put for the empire; 
and this, therefore, clearly identifies the first kingdom. 

II. The second was the Medo-Persian. This is evident, 
(1.) Because it immediately succeeded the Chal- The silvcr por . 
dean empire, 538 B. C. (2.) It, too, was uni- tion of the Im - 

x ' , . a £ e represents 

versal. (3.) It was inferior to the Chaldean the Medo-Per- 
in morality, unity, and energy. " The Persian 
kings," says the learned Prideaux, " were the worst race of 
men that ever governed an empire." (4.) It was bv its 
silver plate, shields, etc., distinguished as " The silver em- 
pire." 

III. The third was the Macedonian. This is obvious, 
(1.) Because it immediately succeeded the Medo- The Brass tLe 
Persian, 334 B. C. (2.) It was universal. (3.) Macedonian. 
Because the Greeks were distinguished for their brazen ar- 
mor. XaAxofiTCDPez A%aeoe 9 brazen-coated Greeks, was one 
of their common appellations. 



64 REASON AND REVELATION. 

IV. The fourth was the Roman empire. It, and it alone, 
The iron and fulfills all the conditions and specifications of 
t h a e y Roman nt this part of the prophecy. (1.) Because it suc- 
emphe. ceeded the Greek empire. (2.) It was uni- 

versal. (3.) It was, on account of its great strength, most 
properly represented by the iron. (4.) But the Romans 
were weakened by their admixture with foreigners. And 
hence theirs was an empire composed of iron and clay. The 
other three kingdoms were comparatively homogeneous. 
They were all oriental in their language, laws, customs, et 
cetera. But the Roman empire embraced all the peculiari- 
ties of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 

We have now clearly identified the image as a whole, and 
also in its several parts ; and it only remains, therefore, to 
consider the stone, or, rather, the kingdom of God, of 
which the stone is here used as an emblem. Concerning 
Fourparticu- this kingdom, then, four things are clearly and 
bTthe r King* ed distinctly predicated : 
domof God. i Ttiat it snou ia be set up in the days of 

these kings or kingdoms; that is, during the existence of 
this image, or the prevalence of universal monarchy. 

II. That it should break these kingdoms into pieces, and 
consume them like the chaff of the summer threshing- 
floors. 

III. That it should itself become a great mountain, and 
fill the whole earth. And, 

IV. That it should not pass away like the four mon- 
archies preceding it; but that it shall stand forever, the 
fifth and last universal monarchy of the world. 

Let us consider these four points briefly in order. And, 
first, is it true that at any epoch between the reign of Ne- 
buchadnezzar and the fall of the Roman empire God did 
set up a kingdom on earth? On this point, it gives me 
pleasure to say, the evidence is clear, convincing, and in all 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 65 

respects satisfactory. That the kingdom of Christ, other- 
wise called the kingdom of heaven or of God, The first of 
was set np on or about the day of Pentecost, int heBetting 
A. D. 34, is as clearly and as fully established £f *2**f 
as any other event in the history of the world, a. d. 34. 
To this effect Pagans, Mahometanism, Jews, and Christians 
all bear witness. And as this was about four hundred and 
forty-two years before the fall of the Roman empire, we 
conclude that the first point is satisfactorily made out : that 
in the days of these kings the God of heaven did set up his 
kingdom among men. 

The second point is equally well sustained by evidence, but 
its meaning is not quite so obvious to most read- Difficulty of 
ers. The difficulty consists in seeing and com- ^ e d ^ n n d dins 
prehending how the kingdom of heaven, which point. 
was not set up till the day of Pentecost, A. D. 34, could 
have any influence over empires which had fallen centuries 
before that ever-memorable epoch. But this is all owing to 
the very abstract nature of the conception on Its exp iana- 
which the image was founded and constructed; tion - 
for be it observed that in this vision the Holy Spirit does 
not attempt to identify these empires in their outward or 
material organizations. In the vision there is no comming- 
ling of the gold, and the silver, and the brass, and the iron. 
But, nevertheless, all these were animated by one and the self- 
same spirit. 

Here, then, is the true bond of union. Here is the link 
that unites all these heterogeneous and discordant The identity of 
elements. Here is to be found the personal t h! spidfthat 
identity of the image. Here we discover that aniniated it- 
living principle which moved and governed the world from 
the days of Nebuchadnezzar till the fall of the Roman em- 
pire. Daniel, it seems, was not a materialist. He knew 
that a man has a soul as well as a body ; and, moreover, that 
5 



bb REASON AND REVELATION. 

no physical elements, however discordant, can have power 
to destroy our personal identity so long as our bodies are 
severally animated, sustained, and governed by one and the 
self-same spirit. 

The spirit of this image is well illustrated by the common 
Attributes and niaxim of all these empires that " Might makes 
characteristics right" It consisted in all those feelings and 

of th< j spirit of * 7 » 

tins image. passions of pride, and envy, and malice, and re- 
venge, and ambition, and selfishness that have ever charac- 
terized the unrenewed and unsanctified heart of fallen and 
depraved humanity. What but such a spirit of inordinate 
ambition, pride, and selfishness could have moved Nebu- 
chadnezzar to lead his armies against the nations of Western 
Asia ? What else moved Cyrus to make war on many of 
the tribes of the East, and of the West, and of the North, 
and finally to lead his victorious army against Babylon it- 
self, the pride and glory of the Chaldean monarchy ? What 
but this principle moved Alexander the Great to undertake 
the conquest of all Asia, and Csesar to lead his victorious 
legions throughout the provinces of Gaul and Britain? 

Between all such governments and the kingdom of heaven 
Laws and cod- there must ever exist a war of uncompromising 
kingdom of hostility. Its king is the Prince of Peace. Its 
heaven. fundamental principle consists in love and be- 

nevolence. Its laws are such as the following : " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all 
thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; 
and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." And again : 
" Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even 
so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." 

These principles, emanating from the highest authority in 
^ . . a the universe, were first proclaimed to the whole 

Their influence ' x 

on the Roman world, in all their fullness, during the last days 
of the Iron empire. They spread like leaven 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 67 

among the masses. Even the Roman army felt their all- 
subduing power and sanctifying influence; and the conse- 
quence was that many, like the devout Cornelius, beat their 
swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks, 
and solemnly declared, before their emperors and generals, 
that they would learn and practice the art of war no more. 

The image was then smitten on its feet. But the wound 
was mortal to the whole body. The tyrant Dissolution 
that had governed the world from the days of tionof the 
Nebuchadnezzar to that hour was slain. His Image - 
spirit was vanquished, and his whole physical organization, 
consisting of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and clay, 
was then broken into many fragments. 

Since that time, Charlemagne, Napoleon, and many oth- 
ers of like ambition, have attempted to revive impossibility 
the spirit and reunite the scattered fragments ofeverestab * 

L ° lisliing another 

of this fallen image. But all such attempts have universal poiit- 

1 • • mi „ -. . ical monarchy. 

been in vain, I he most powerful nations on 
earth acknowledge their allegiance to the Prince of Peace, 
and their obligations to the claims of the kingdom of heaven. 
It is true that the spirit of war still exists. Blood is often 
shed for the most trivial causes. But let any king, prince, 
or potentate now attempt to revive the spirit of this fallen 
image ; let him, like Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander, 
and Caesar, attempt to subdue the world, and to govern it 
on the principle that u might makes right" and if not treated 
as a maniac by his own subjects, he will, at least, soon find 
arrayed against him all the combined powers of Christen- 
dom. In this country, we can not even talk of spirit of o PP o- 
the conquest of Cuba, or any other portion f„ Americaand 
of territory, however small and insignificant, inEui °pe. 
without exciting in millions of our fellow-citizens feelings 
of the most inveterate opposition to every such act of injus- 
tice and oppression. And the same spirit of Gospel benev- 



68 REASON AND REVELATION. 

olence prevails, also, to a very considerable extent, in all the 
nations of modern Europe. The principles of Christianity 
are prevailing every-where. The scattered fragments of the 
fallen image are daily becoming more and more like the 
chaff of the summer threshing-floors, and every thing seems 
to indicate that the time is not far distant 

Conclusion. 

when the stone that smote the image will be- 
come a great mountain and fill the whole earth. 

And this brings me to the third item concerning this 
smaii begin- kingdom. On the day of Pentecost, A. D. 34, 
ningotthe the num b er of Christ's faithful subjects was 

kingdom of J 

heaven. very small. The kingdom might then be well 

compared to a grain of mustard-seed ; or, as David says in 
the seventy-second psalm, it was like a handful of corn on 
the tops of the mountains; or, in the expressive language 
of Daniel, it was like a stone cut out of the mountain 
its rapid in- without hands. But, during the first three cen- 
tne a first^hr"e turies, its increase was marvelous. Nothing 
centuries. could withstand the Divine energy and power 

with which it spread in all directions. The prejudices, the 
superstitions, the philosophies, the learning, the wealth, the 
pomp, the pride, and the politics of the world were all arrayed 
against it. The sword was unsheathed, and bathed in the 
blood of its subjects. The fires of persecution were kindled, 
and thousands of the followers of Christ perished at the 
stake for no other reason than that they would not renounce 
their birthrights and immunities as citizens of the kingdom 
of heaven. But all opposition was in vain. Its boundaries 
were constantly enlarged, the number of its citizens was 
daily multiplied, and in less than three centuries after the 
coronation of the Messiah, his kingdom embraced the most 
enlightened and influential citizens of the Roman empire. 
In A. D. 312, the emperor Constantine became a vassal of 
the King of kings, and in A. D. 384, the Roman Senate 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 69 

abolished Paganism, and made Christianity the religion of 
the empire. 

This is certainly strong evidence of the inherent energy 
and previous triumphs of Christianity. But Effect of the 

.1 n> i 11 •,_ l union between 

the alliance was unnatural, and hence it be- tlu , niul ,. h . lU(1 
came a great curse instead of a blessing to the theState - 
Church. "My kingdom" said Christ, "is not of this world" 
There was no affinity between the Stone that was cut out 
of the mountain without hands and that symbol of human 
wickedness which it was designed to crush into atoms. No 
wonder, then, that after this unnatural alliance the old land- 
marks of the kingdom of heaven were soon obliterated, and 
that its glory was henceforth very greatly obscured. 

About the same time, the barbarians of the North spread 
like a storm of hail and fire, mingled with blood, Effect of the in- 
over the Roman empire. The lights of liter- ™ rai ° na ° f the 

x ° Northern har- 

ature and science were extinguished, and the hm-ians. 

" dark ages " followed, during which Mahometanism and 

many other abominations deluged the earth. 

At length the world's midnight came, in the eleventh cen- 
tury. Darkness that might be felt then sat Further nog- 
brooding upon the nations. This was the reign re880f ««•<*■ 
of terror — of Satanic terror. And, no doubt, to many a 
poor, despised and persecuted follower of Jesus, it did ap- 
pear as if the gates of Hades were about to prevail against 
the kingdom of the Messiah. 

But man's extremity is God's opportunity. There were 
still living a few noble spirits who had not Chanffe for tbe 
bowed the knee to the image of Baal. These better - 
rose, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to repair the altar of 
God that was broken down. Heaven sustained and blessed 
their noble efforts. Every thing began to wear a more en- 
couraging and promising aspect. New elements of hope 
and success were providentially developed. Learning be- 



70 REASON AND REVELATION. 

gan to revive in the fourteenth century; the art of print- 
ing was discovered in the fifteenth; and the great leaders 
of the Protestant Reformation appeared in the sixteenth. 

That was a remarkable era in the growth and prosperity 
what was ac- °f the kingdom of heaven. Much was then 
comphshed by d one t restore the apostolic order of things. 

the Reforma- a o 

tion of the i6th The Bible was translated and put into the hands 
of the people; men were taught to read, and 
think, and act for themselves; and the power of the ever- 
lasting Gospel was again felt in every province of Europe. 

But the most active and practical elements of the Gospel 
wherein it was were n °t * nen fully restored. The missionary 
deficient. gpirit f t ] ie Church still slumbered. The fol- 

lowers of Luther and Calvin became too much engaged in 
political and metaphysical discussions ; and the progress of 
the reign of heaven among men was again very much re- 
tarded, till about the beginning of the nineteenth century. 

Then the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given 
L , . . , to the saints of the Most High, and the time 

bpirit and prog- ° ' 

ress of the 19th came that the saints should possess the king- 
dom. Then commenced the era of Modern 
Missions. Then was formed the benevolent design of sup- 
plying the world with the Word of Life. Then a new 
spirit of zeal, energy, and activity was developed and mani- 
fested throughout all Protestant Christendom. 

I need not dwell on the results and consequences that 
have followed. The reader sees them in his own church 
and community. He sees them in the progress that Chris- 
tianity has made in America, in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, 
and even in many of the most remote islands of the Atlan- 
tic and the Pacific. He sees them in the multiplication of 
Bibles, of schools and colleges, and of the arts and sciences. 
He sees them in the decline of Catholicism, Mahometan- 
ism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, and all the other abominations 



Conclusion. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 71 

that have so long opposed the progress and the interests of 
the kingdom of heaven. 

What need, then, have we of further testimony? Is it 
not as plain as evidence can make it, that God 
is now making every thing tributary to the 
spread of the Gospel ? And hence we infer that the day is 
not far distant when the Stone that smote the image will be- 
come a great mountain and fill the whole earth. 

It now only remains to consider briefly the duration of 
this kingdom. The prophet says, "It will stand Duration of 
forever;" that is, as long as the w T orld stands, the kingdom 
or until the judgment shall sit and the books 
be opened. Then, of course, the kingdom will be delivered 
up to God the Father, that God may be all and in all.* 

As this part of the prophecy extends far into the future, 
it can not, of course, like the first and second What i listory 
items considered, be proved and illustrated his- a " d , tlie 8igns 

' *- of the times m- 

torically. But in view of its past history and dicate. 
its present increasing influences on the nations, who can 
doubt that this kingdom will endure forever? Does any 
man of intelligence, whatever may be his religious belief or 
his party prejudices, really and soberly think that Chris- 
tianity will ever pass away, as did the Chaldean, Medo-Per- 
sian, Grecian, and Roman empires? I think not. I know 
of no intelligent person who really entertains notions so chi- 
merical and so utterly opposed to all the indications of our 
present rapidly-increasing civilization ; and hence I think 
we are fully warranted in the conclusion that the kingdom 
of heaven will stand while time endures. 

How clearly, then, this prophecy, with its ful- Bearing of this 
fill men t, serves to prove the Divine origin of Ehe question 
the Holv Bible. It was uttered more than two r ^ ecti »s the 

origiuofthe 

thousand years ago, in the open court of the Bible. 
*Rev. xx : 11-15; 1 Cor. xv: 24-28. 



72 REASON AND REVELATION. 

greatest monarch then living. It was aimed against the 
pride, and vanity, and ambition of all earthly princes. It 
was, of course, watched with an eye of heathen jealousy by 
all the kings, and princes, and priests, and philosophers of 
Babylon and the three succeeding empires. It was sacredly 
guarded by the Jews and rigorously scrutinized by the Gen- 
tiles till the coming of the Messiah. It is, therefore, no 
Christian fabrication, as some have supposed. It is found 
in the sacred archives of those who are most hostile to the 
Christian system. And yet, wonderful to be told, it is now 
being fulfilled before our own eyes, and also in the presence 
of the most enlightened Jews, Turks, and Pa- 

Conclusion. . . , , 

gans. How true it is, then, that Daniel and 
other holy men of old spake as they were moved by the 
Holy Spirit. 

SECTION II. — Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts. — 

Daniel vii. 

The main scope of the vision recorded in the seventh 
General scope chapter of Daniel is to illustrate the origin, 
of the vision. progress, and fortunes of the Little Horn of the 
fourth beast, especially in its relations to the kingdom of 
the Messiah. But for the sake of consistency and harmony, 
the whole subject of universal monarchy is again intro- 
duced, as in the first vision of Nebuchadnezzar. 

The scene is laid on the Mediterranean Sea, and Daniel 
sees four w r ild beasts rising up out of the agi- 

The scene or ~ A ° 

place of the tated waters. For the symbolical import of 

vision. , -^ _, r 

these waters, see Kev. xvn : 15. 
I. The first beast, we are told, resembled a lion; had 
eagle's wings; the wings were plucked; the 
of the first beast was made to stand upright like a man ; 

and a man's heart was given to it. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 73 

These characteristics all serve to mark out what it repre- 
this beast as a symbol of the Chaldean empire. 

II. The second beast was like a bear; it seemed to be rais- 
ing: itself up on one side, as a bear when about _ L . A . 

or ? Characteristics 

to pounce upon his prey ; it had three ribs in its of the second 

1 I • 11 T 1 beHSt - 

mouth, and it was commanded to devour much 
flesh. 

This was a symbol of the Medo-Persian empire. The 
three ribs in its mouth most likely represent Wht re re 
the three principal kingdoms subdued by it, »ents. 
viz.: Lydia, Babylonia, and Egypt. 

III. The third beast was like a leopard ; had four wings, 
representing the great celerity of its motions ; characteristics 
four heads, representing its four principal divis- £^ e third 
ions; and great dominion. 

These are all symbolical of the Grecian or what it sym- 

-\r i • bolizes. 

Macedonian empire. 

IV. The fourth beast was a monster, and had characteristics 
great iron teeth ; it trampled down every thing ° f the fourth 
before it; it had ten horns, symbolical of ten 
kingdoms; and from among these sprung up another little 
horn, or kingdom. 

This beast was evidently a symbol of the Roman empire. 
The ten kingdoms into which it was divided, 0f what it waa 
according to Machiavel, an Italian politician s > mbolical - 
and historian, are as follows. The chronology is given by 
Bishop Lloyd: (1.) The Huns in Hungary, A. D. 356; 
(2.) The Ostrogoths in Moesia, A. D. 357 ; (3.) The ten homs 
The Visigoths in Pannonia, A. D. 378; (4.) SZ! 
The Franks in France, A. D. 407 ; (5.) The phe - 
Vandals in Africa, A. D. 407; (6.) The Sueves and Alans 
in Spain, A. D. 407 ; (7.) The Burgundians in Burgundy, 
A. D. 407 ; (8.) The Heruli and Rugians in Italy, A. D. 
476; (9.) The Saxons and Angles in Britain, A. D. 476; 



74 REASON AND REVELATION. 

(10.) And the Lombards first in Northern Germany, A. D. 
483, and afterward in Italy, A. D. 562. 

THE LITTLE HORN. 
. . From the record given in this seventh chap- 

Cnaractenstics __ ° r 

of the Little ter of Daniel concerning the Little Horn it ap- 

Horn. 

pears, 

I. That its locality would be among the other ten horns 
or kingdoms; that is, in some part of the Western Eoman 
empire. 

II. That it would be a little horn, or, as the angel explains 
it, a little kingdom. 

III. That it would be diverse or different in kind from 
the other ten horns. 

IV. That it would in some way overcome and subdue 
three of the ten. 

V. That it would have eyes like the eyes of a man ; that 
is, that it would be remarkable for its knowledge, cunning, 
and sagacity. 

YI. That it would utter blasphemies against the Most 
High. 

VII. That its bearing would be more arrogant and pre- 
sumptuous than the other ten. 

VIII. That it would arrogate to itself authority to change 
times and laws. 

IX. That it would make war upon the Saints and pre- 
vail against them for a time, times, and a dividing of time ; 
that is, for three years and a half, or according to the year- 
day theory, by which a day is put for a year in the short- 
hand writing of prophecy, one thousand two hundred and 
sixty years.* 

X. That at the close of this period the Ancient of 

* See Ezekieliv: 6. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 75 

Days would sit in judgment upon it and take away its do- 
minion. 

XL That it would not at that time be wholly destroyed, 
but that/ro»i that epoch it ivould be gradually consumed even 
to the time of its final ruin. 

Compare with all this what is said of the Man of Sin 
in 2 Thessalonians ii : 1-12, and the descrip- other refer- 
tion of the two-horned beast in Revelation xiii : same power . 
11-18. 

In order to identify this Little Horn it is K.-qmsites « 

^ t order to iden- 

neoessary to find a kingdom that will answer to tifj-thisking- 

all the given characteristics. Such a one we find 

in the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and nowhere The conditions 

/ 7 all fulfilled ia 

else. This will appear more evident as we pro- the Roman 

ceed with the several particulars specified. And, archy- 

I. All concede that Popery had its origin in Itg birth lace 
the Western Roman empire, among the ten 

horns of the fourth beast. 

II. It is also evident that Popery has always been, in- 
trinsically, a weak and feeble power. True, in- It9 intrinsic 
deed, in one aspect, it was for a time very pow- fe6bleness - 
erful ; but it was so, not by its own, but by borrowed power. 
It has generally accomplished its ends and purposes through 
the agency and instrumentality of some other political power; 
and hence to John it appeared as a lamb, but it spake like 
a dragon. 

III. It was diverse from all the other kingdoms of the 
empire. They were all purely secular in their Its diverse 
character, but it was a politico-ecclesiastical des- character - 
potism. 

IV. It is a well-known historical fact that through the 
influence of the Catholic party the Vandals, the The three 
Ostrogoths, and the Lombards were all subdued Ho ">s plucked 

° ' up by the Little 

and removed out of the way. The following Hon*, 



76 REASON AND REVELATION. 

facts are taken, in substance, from Gibbon's " Decline and 
Fall of the Roman Empire : " 

The Arian controversy was the occasion of much enmity 
The Ariau con- between nations as well as between individuals 
troversy. anc [ churches. The Romans and the Greeks 

were generally Athanasians or Trinitarians; but the cause 
of Arius w T as, for the most part, espoused by the Vandals, 
the Ostrogoths, the Lombards, and other tribes hostile to the 
Quarrels be- Romans. Religion was carried into their secular 
* we «° the and political differences; and for many years the 

vandais of Af- political leaders of the respective parties were 

rica , . , i • • 

among their most violent religious partisans. 
But about A. D. 530, Hilderic, king of the Vandals, became 
more friendly to the Trinitarians, or Catholic party of North- 
ern Africa. He restored two hundred deposed Athanasian 
bishops to their churches, and allowed the free profession of 
the Athanasian Creed. This, of course, gave great offense to 
his Arian subjects. His clergy charged him with having re- 
nounced the faith of his fathers. He was finally deposed, and 
Gelimer, a violent Arian partisan, was placed on the throne. 
This, again, greatly offended the Catholics in the East, as 
subjugation of well as in Africa and in Italy, and as the em- 
the vandais. peror Justinian was then the political repre- 
sentative of the Catholic party, all looked to him to defend 
the faith and to chastise the Vandals. His consent was 
easily obtained. Having himself, about the same time, ac- 
knowledged the Bishop of Rome to be the head over all the 
churches, and having asked his services in the settlement 
of an Eastern controversy, he seemed anxious to prove his 
faith by his works, and readily consented to undertake the 
subjugation of the Vandals.* An army was sent into Af- 

*The following letter from Justinian to John, Bishop of Rome, A. D. 
533, sufficiently explains the purposes and designs of the Emperor, and 
his great obsequiousness to the See of Rome: 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 77 

rica, under Belisarius, A. D. 533, and in the course of that 
and the following year the Vandals were subdued and almost 
exterminated.* 

The same fate befel the Ostrogoths of Italy in A. D. 
539. f Thus two of the ten original horns were subjugation of 
subdued and vanquished through the influence ! he ' °f tro s otU3 

*■ tt in Italy. 

of this Little Horn. 

In A. D. 568 the Lombards got possession in Italy. 
They, too, were uncompromising Arians, and subjugation of 
their political and religious controversies with the Lombards - 
the Catholics became more and more frequent and violent. 
Appeals were again made to the East, but in vain. At 

"Rendering honor to the Apostolic See and to your holiness, as always 

was and is our desire, and, as it becomes us, honoring 

your blessedness as a father, we have laid without delay be- Justinian's let* 
„ , . , , , „ , . . . ter to the Bish- 

fo re the notice of your blessedness all things pertaining to op of R 0me# 

the state of the Church. Since it has always been our 

earnest study to preserve the unity of your Holy See, and the state of 

the holy churches of God which has hitherto obtained, and will remain 

without any interfering opposition. Therefore we hasten to subject and to 

unite to your holiness all the priests of the whole East. 

"As to the matters which are at present agitated, although clear and 
undoubted, and, according to the doctrine of the Apostolic See, held as- 
suredly resolved and decided upon by all the priests, we have yet deemed 
it necessary to lay them before your holiness. Nor do we suffer any 
thing which belongs to the state of the Church, however manifest and 
undoubted, that is agitated, to p;iss without the knowledge of your holi- 
ness, who are the head of all the holy churches. For in all things, as had 
been said or resolved, we are prompt to increase the honor and authority 
of your See." — Bower's History of the Popes, vol. ii, pp. 335, 336. 

The same supremacy is ascribed to the Bishop of Rome by Justinian 
in his celebrated code of Roman laws, published about the 
same time. In the 131st Novella, the Emperor says: " We tin ^ a y 6 
therefore decree that the Most Holy Pope of Rome is the first 
of all the priesthood, and that the most blessed Archbishop of Constanti- 
nople, the new Rome, shall be second in rank after the Holy Apostolic 
Chair of the elder Rome." 

♦See Gibbon, vol. v, pp. 127-158. fibid, vol. v, pp. 178-210. 



78 REASON AND REVELATION. 

length Pope Stephen called on Pepin, king of France, who 
came in person, subdued the Lombards, and, in A. D. 755, 
conferred on the Pope the Exarchate of Ravenna and Pent- 
apolis. Thus fell the third of the ten horns.* 

V. The cunning, sagacity, and far-reaching policy of the 
its sagacity Catholics, and especially of the Order of the 
and foresight. Jesuits, are proverbial. 

VI. The following quotation from Bishop Newton's " Dis- 
its biasphe- sertations on the Prophecies " will sufficiently 
terTnd preten- illustrate this characteristic of Popery : "At all 
si0I,s - times he (the Pope) exercises Divine authority 
in the Church, showing himself that he is God ; affecting 
Divine titles and attributes, such as holiness and infallibil- 
ity ; assuming Divine powers and prerogatives, in condemn- 
ing and absolving men, in retaining and forgiving sins, in 
asserting his decrees to be of the same or greater authority 
than the Word of God, and commanding them to be re- 
ceived under the penalty of the same or greater condemna- 
tion. Like another Salmoneus, he is proud to imitate the 
state and thunder of the Almighty, and is styled and 
pleased to be styled, ' Our Lord God the Pope ; another 
God upon earth ; King of kings and Lord of lords/ The 
same is the dominion of God and the Pope. To believe 
that our Lord God the Pope might not decree as he de- 
creed, is heresy. The power of the Pope is greater than all 
created power, and extends itself to things celestial, terres- 
trial, and infernal. The Pope doeth whatsoever he listeth, 
even things unlawful, and is more than God. Such blas- 
phemies are not only allowed, but are even approved, en- 
couraged, and rewarded, in writers of the Church of Rome, 
and they are not only the extravagances of private writers, 
but are the language even of public decretals and acts of 
councils."f 

* See Gibbon, vol. v, pp. 213-219. t Disser. xxii: pp. 404-5. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 79 

VII. It was not enough for this little horn to uproot 
three of its ten predecessors; it also claimed ju- His arrogant 

-i. ,. .1 • • n bearing toward 

nsdictiou over the remaining seven, as well as kings and 
over all other kings and potentates. On the pnncos - 
necks of some the Pope placed his foot, in token of his ab- 
solute sovereignty. Others were required, after the manner 
of slaves, to hold his stirrup, while he mounted on horse- 
back ; and others again were, through his influence, reduced 
to such a degree of degradation, that they were glad of the 
opportunity to kiss his toe, in token of their absolute sub- 
jection to his holiness.* Such facts very clearly indicate 
that " his looks were more stout than his fellows." 

VIII. The power to change times and laws, even the 
laws of the Most High, has always been claimed Hi8 c iaimed- 
as one of the prerogatives of the Pope of Rome. a,ltni)litvl ° 

J- o - 1 change times 

This is made sufficiently clear by the previous and laws. 
citation from Bishop Newton. 

IX. It is well to observe here that the term of twelve hun- 
dred and sixty years does not refer, as some have „ 

J J . Period of his 

alleged, to the entire period of the Little Horn's dominion over 
existence, but only to the period of his dominion 
over the saints. That this commenced as early as A. D. 533, 
is, I think, evident from what is given under the fourth 
characteristic. That many of the Vandals were ignorant, 
superstitious, and hypocritical formalists, is of course con- 
ceded; but that some of them were also sincere followers 
of our Lord Jesus Christ admits, I think, of no doubt. 
And be it remembered, that the war which resulted in their 
complete subjugation was really a religious war, undertaken 
and prosecuted for the sake of the Catholic party. This is 
evident from many passages in Gibbon, as well as from 
what has been said and written by many other historians. 

* See Ranke's "History of the Popes," and Dowling's " History of Ro- 
manism."' 



80 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Take, for instance, the following brief extract from the " De- 
cline and Fall of the Eoman Empire." After a free confer- 
ence with his Council of State, in reference to undertaking 
the war, the emperor hesitated ; and Gibbon adds, " The 
design of the war would perhaps have been relinquished, if 
Justinian's courage had not been revived by a voice which 
silenced the doubts of profane reason. ' I have seen a 
vision/ cried an artful or fanatic bishop of the East. ( It is 
the will of Heaven, O Emperor, that you should not abandon 
your holy enterprise for the deliverance of the African Church. 
The God of battles will march before your standard, and dis- 
perse your enemies, who are the enemies of his Son/ "* 

This appeal to the emperor was decisive. There was no 
longer room either for doubt or for hesitation. The war was 
resolved on for the sake of the Catholic Church. During that 
and the following year much blood was shed in the name of 
Religion ; and the persecution was continued, without much 
interruption, for a period of one thousand two hundred and 
sixty years, during which the Church fled into the wilder- 
ness. The two witnesses prophesied in sackcloth, and many 
of the saints suffered martyrdom for the Word of God and 
the testimony of Jesus Christ. But in A. D. 1793, just one 
thousand two hundred and sixty years from the commence- 
ment of the African war, the breaking out of the French 
revolution put a stop to all religious persecution throughout 
Europe. 

X. But this was not all that followed. It was not a mere 
Gods d- suspension of Papal power and Papal tyranny. 

ments ou the Then the Ancient of Days sat in judgment on 
this monster of iniquity. His power was broken, 
his dominion was then taken away, and the kingdom was soon 
given to the saints of the Most High. 

On the 21st of September, 1792, the French National 

* Gibbon, vol. v, chap, xli, p. 131, Lond. edit. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 81 

Convention abolished royalty and proclaimed the French na- 
tion a free republic. On the 19th of Novem- Arts of the 
ber following, they passed the "Decree of Fret- tionaiAssem- 
ternity" promising aid to all people who were bly - 
willing to contend for the principles and enjoyment of lib- 
erty. These measures were preparatory to the solemn and 
extreme issues of the next year, during which king Louis, 
"The Eldest Son of the Church/' was beheaded, vast num- 
bers of the royalists put to death, the republican era pro- 
claimed, and all ecclesiastical connection with Rome publicly 
renounced. The events of the two following years were of 
the same type. While they were characterized by the most 
wild, reckless, and lawless spirit of unbridled democracy, 
they were, at the same time, a terror to Popery as well as to 
every other surviving horn of the fourth beast. Thus it is 
that God makes even the wrath and wickedness of man praise 
him. 

But it was reserved especially for Napoleon to humble the 
pride of Rome, and to completely sever the ec- Napoleon's suc- 
clesiastical and political ties that bound all cess in Italy - 
Western Europe to the throne of the Papacy. This was 
his mission, and while he confined himself within its proper 
limits, no hero was ever more successful. On the third of 
February, 1796, when only twenty-six years of age, he was 
appointed commander-in-chief of the army in Italy. The 
battle of Lodi is a monument of his military greatness. All 
Northern Italy then felt and acknowledged his power. The 
Pope was forced to purchase the forbearance of the repub- 
licans by ceding to them Bologna and several other towns, 
paying a heavy ransom, and sending three hundred precious 
manuscripts and pictures to enrich the National Museum of 
Paris. Other important events followed in quick succession, 
and, on the 15th of February, 1798, General Berthier, the 
commander of the French forces, entered the gates of the 
6 



82 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Eternal City. The conquest was easy and rapid. He soon 
abolished the Papal Government, proclaimed Rome a repub- 
lic, dragged Pope Pius VI from the altar of the Vatican, 
sent him first into Tuscany, and thence to Valence, in France, 
where, after an illness of ten days, he expired in captivity. 

XL This was an end of the administration of Pius VI, 
Popery in a but not of Popery. The prophet foresaw that 
state of con- after t ] ie terminus of the one thousand two hun- 

sumption. 

dred and sixty years of Papal supremacy this 
once persecuting power would itself pass through a period 
of consumption, until it would be finally destroyed. And 
this is now being fulfilled before our eyes in all parts of Chris- 
tendom. 

The French had freed themselves from the evils of mon- 
archy, but not from their own religious blindness and fanati- 
cism. They never understood the spirit and genius of pure 
Christianity ; and hence when their own experience had con- 
vinced them that even superstition is better than atheism, 
they were not prepared for any thing better than a modified 
species of Roman Catholicism; and this was, therefore, re- 
established as the religion of the republic. This was cer- 
tainly making some concession to the Roman Catholic Hie- 
rarchy. But all the powers of earth can never restore what 
,it lost by the French revolution and the victories of Na- 
poleon. True, indeed, its numbers are still very great, and, 
it may be, that they are even increasing ; but, nevertheless, 
its spirit is broken, its dominion over the saints has ceased, its 
power to persecute has been taken away, and for several years 
the intervention of foreign bayonets has been necessary to pre- 
serve its head from ruin. 

In the mean time the kingdom has been given to the saints 
„, u ,. , of the Most High. From the day that the Papal 

The kingdom & J x 

given to the scepter was broken by Napoleon, the cause of 
primitive Christianity has been onward and up- 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 83 

ward. Then commenced the work of modern missions. 
Then was conceived the benevolent design of supplying the 
destitute and dying millions of our race with the Word of 
Life. And never before, since the days of the Apostles, was 
so much done for the conversion of the world and the res- 
toration of primitive Christianity as has been accomplished 
within the last sixty years. The Bible has, during this 
short period, been translated into all the principal languages 
and dialects of the earth, the number of its copies has been 
multiplied more than tenfold, and all things seem to indi- 
cate the speedy triumphs of the Gospel throughout the whole 
world. 

From all these premises, then, we conclude, „ , . 

*■ ' * Conclusion 

1. That Daniel was a true prophet, and spoke 
as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. 

2. That the days of Zion's mourning are past ; that her 
warfare is almost accomplished ; that the two witnesses will 
no more prophesy in sackcloth ; and that the bottomless pit 
will hereafter be opened only to receive the enemies of the 
Church. 



SECTION III.— The Mahometan Dominion; or, The 
Little Horn of the Goat. — Daniel viii. 

The scope of Daniel's second vision is very similar to that 
of his first. It is evidently to illustrate the 

. . ^ Scope of Dan- 

ongin, exploits, and destiny of a Little Horn, iei's second 
But whether the Little Horns of the two vis- 
ions are identical, the sequel will show. 

The scene is laid on the banks of the river 
Ulai. While there Daniel saw a Ram pushing 
westward, and northward, and southward. This characteristics 
Ram, according to Gabriel, was a symbolical rep- and s >' mbolical 

° ' ** a meaning of the 

resentation of the Medo-Persian empire, and to Ram - 



84 REASON AND REVELATION. 

it all the marks and characteristics of the Earn evidently 
refer. 

While Daniel was admiring the Ram for his great strength 
characteristics an d prowess, a He-Goat came rapidly and sweep- 
of the He-Goat. i n gly from the west, and completely vanquished 
the Ram. But when the Goat became very powerful, his 
great horn was broken, and in its stead came up four other 
notable horns toward the four winds of heaven. 

This Goat, according to the same authority, was a symbol 
Their symboii- of the Greek or Macedonian empire. The great 
cai meaning. ^ora denoted Alexander the Great, and the four 
notable horns that succeeded it, represented Greece, Thrace, 
Syria, and Egypt : the four principal divisions of the Greek 
empire. 

Out of one of these came up afterward the Little Horn, 
criteria and which is evidently the principal subject of the 

characteristics . . tt* j_i • • e ,1 i , i 

of this Little vision. Irom the vision 01 the prophet, and 
Hoin - Gabriel's interpretation, we learn the following 

particulars concerning it: 

I. That this Little Horn would have its origin in one of 
the four divisions of Alexander's empire. 

II. That the time of its rise would be when the dominion 
of the four kingdoms of the goat had passed away, and the 
transgressors had come to the full. 

III. That its character would be exceedingly unique and 
paradoxical. For instance, 

1. That it would be a little horn, but that it would also 
be a king of fierce countenance. 

2. That it would be skillful in understanding dark sen- 
tences. 

3. That one of its characteristic crimes would be the 
transgression of desolation. 

IV. That it would wage war, and exercise its hostility, 
1. Upon the South, the East, and the Pleasant Land. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 85 

2. Against the host of heaven ; or, as Gabriel explains it, 
against the mighty and holy people. 

3. Against the Prince of the Host. 

4. Against the Daily. 

V. From the same sources we also learn by what means 
it would succeed in its ambitious and unholy purposes. 
These are, 

1. Not by its own, but by borrowed power. 

2. By a crafty and cunning policy. 

3. By offers of peace. 

VI. Finally, we have an account of the manner and time 
of its end. It is to be broken without hands, and within a 
period of twenty-three hundred prophetic days. 

There is a very striking analogy between some of these 
characteristics and those of the Little Horn de- Analogy De- 
scribed in the seventh chapter of Daniel; and tkHoing'of 1 
hence some have inferred that the horns are tl ™ 7 * b and : 8th 

chapters of 

themselves identical. But this opinion is evi- Daniel, 
dently erroneous. In some respects these two Points of dif . 
horns differ very essentially, as, for instance, ference - 
with respect to the place of their origin and the sphere of 
their influence. It has been demonstrated, I hope to the 
satisfaction of all my readers, that the Little Horn of the 
seventh chapter is a symbol of the Roman Catholic Hie- 
rarchy. But this power did not grow up in any one of the 
four divisions of Alexander's empire ; nor did it ever exer- 
cise very much influence over them. The seat of its do- 
minion has always been in Western Europe, a territory 
over w T hich Alexander's empire never extended. Hence not 
And hence it follows that these two Little idtntical - 
Horns are essentially different. The one has long been the 
curse of Western Europe, and the other of Western Asia. 
The former represents Popery, and the latter Whatthesetwo 
represents Mahometanism. To this power, sym^oi^e!™ 



86 REASON AND REVELATION. 

and to this alone, belong all the characteristics of the Little 
identification Horn described in the eighth chapter. Let us 
of the latter. notice them all very briefly in order. 

I. The first characteristic mark which serves to identify 

this Little Horn is its locality or birth-place. 

Its locality. . * \ , 

It was to grow up in one of the lour divisions 
of Alexander's empire ; that is, in Macedonia, Thrace, Syria, 
or Egypt. To some there may be an apparent difficulty in 
applying this part of the prophecy to Mahometan power. 
But the difficulty is only apparent. It is true that Mahom- 
etan ism had its origin in Arabia, and it is also true that 
Arabia was never perfectly subjugated by any one of Alex- 
ander's successors. But, nevertheless, it was for a long time 
nominally subject to the kings of Egypt, just as Philistia 
and Phcenecia were always reckoned among the possessions 
„. . . , of the twelve tribes. "After the battle of Ip- 

Divisions 01 J: 

Alexander's sus," says Rollin, " the four confederate princes 
divided the dominions of Antigonus among 
themselves, and added them to those already possessed. The 
empire of Alexander was then divided into four kingdoms, of 
which Ptolemy had Egypt, Lybia, Arabia, Corle-Syria, and 
Palestine; Cassander had Macedonia and Greece; Lysima- 
chus had Thrace, Bithynia, and some other provinces beyond 
the Hellespont, with the Bosphorus ; and Seleueus had all the 
rest of Asia to the other side of the Euphrates, and as far as 
the river Indus* It appears, therefore, that the birth-place 
of this Little Horn exactly corresponds with the birth- 
place of Mahometanism. 

II. The chronology of this Little Horn serves also to 
Time of its identify it with the ecclesiastical system of Ma- 
bilth - hornet. Two circumstances serve to fix the 
time of its birth. Gabriel says that it would stand up 
in the end of the kingdoms of Greece, Thrace, Syria, and 

*Rollin's Anc. Hist., book xvi, chap. 2, sec. 1. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 87 

Egypt; or, more exactly, after the time of these four king- 
doms, when the transgressors were come to the full.* These 
transgressors were evidently the nominal Christians of West- 
ern Asia, and particularly of Arabia, who had very generally 
departed from the faith before the rise of Mahometanism. 
The following very brief extract from Taylor's " Manual of 
History" is sufficient to illustrate this point : " Unfortunate- 
ly " says the historian, on page 356, " Christianity, when in- 
troduced into the Peninsula, had been deeply sullied _ ,. . 

* J Religious char- 

by man's devices. The different tribes were im- acterof the 
bued with a fierce sectarian spirit, and hated each 
other more bitterly than Jews or Pagans. The vivid imagina- 
tions of the Arabs led them to investigate questions beyond the 
powers of man's understanding, and the consequence was so 
abundant a supply of new doctrines, that one of the early 
fathers described Arabia as the land most fruitful in heresies. "f 
This might be further illustrated and confirmed by the tes- 
timony of St. John.J Had not the star first miration 
fallen from heaven, the bottomless pit would not {r ° m tl,e r f poc * 

' A alypse of St. 

have been opened, and, consequently, the smoke John, 
and the darkness and the locusts would never have covered 
the provinces of Western Asia. But the Asiatic churches 
had then very generally filled the cup of their iniquity ; and 
hence God permitted these very heavy and severe judgments 
to come on them. Darkness has since covered that once fa- 
vored portion of the earth, and gross darkness has brooded 
over those towns and cities that were first illuminated by the 
Sun of Righteousness. 

III. The character of this Eastern Power is also very dis- 

* JY^nx is from, nnx, to remain behind or to be after. And hence it 
primarily denotes that which is after or posterior, as Psa. cix: 13; and 
Amos iv : 2. 

t See also Sale's Koran, Prelim. Discourse, Sec. II. 

X Revelation ix: 1-11. 



Its character. 



88 REASON AND REVELATION. 

tinctly marked. It seems that it was to be a little horn, a 
Icing of fierce countenance, and interpreter of dark 
sentences, and a mighty desolator of the earth. All 
these points have been very clearly and strikingly fulfilled 
in the politico-ecclesiastical system of Mahomet. In its ori- 
gin, Mahometanism very much resembled the Little Horn 
of the Western monster. For several vears its 

Evidence of its *> 

intrinsic fee- progress had been very slow. It was not until 
the civil power was associated with the ecclesias- 
tical that it gained much influence either at home or abroad. 
But though in its origin and ecclesiastical capacity it was 
severe and re- a little horn, it nevertheless soon became a king 

vengeful char- n n i tt< j t • 

acter of Ma- °* fierce countenance, livery man s religion 
hometanism. h as an e ff ec t on his intellectual, moral, and even 
physical constitution. Christianity, whose very essence is 
love, renders its subjects mild, amiable, gentle, and forgiv- 
ing in their disposition. It changes the raven to the dove, 
the lion to the lamb. But Mahometanism breathes out 
vengeance and slaughter against and upon all who oppose the 
Koran. Death, tribute, or Islamism were the terms which 
the caliphs offered to their most favored opponents. What 
a contrast between the ambassadors of the Cross and vicars 
of the False Prophet ! 

Skill in the interpretation of dark sentences is another 
Their knowi characteristic of this politico-ecclesiastical despot- 
edge and love ism. And it is well known that the Arabians 
have always been distinguished for the love of 
parables, riddles, and enigmas. The Koran itself abounds 
in all the dark parabolical forms of the Eastern style; and 
besides, Gabriel may also have had reference to their supe- 
rior knowledge of the arts, sciences, and literature during 
the middle ages. 

But though these polished arts have generally had a soft- 
ening and refining influence on mankind, they had but little 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 89 

effect on these locusts of the desert, whose characteristic crime 
was " the transgression of desolation." In the day Thp ahomina _ 
of their power thev were, therefore, " the abomi- tion of desoia- 

tioii. 

nation of desolation." This seems to have been 
a common name, applicable to any power distinguished for 
the crime of desolating large portions of the world. Thus 
the Chaldean army was once " the abomination of desola- 
tion." To it succeeded the Medo-Persian. Then followed 
the Grecian, and then the Roman. The last is evidently 
intended in Daniel xi : 31, and to it our Savior refers in 
Matthew xxiv : 15. But the Saracen army also became " the 
abomination of desolation," and it is evidently so designated 
in Daniel xii: 11. This was so very manifest, even to So- 
phronius, the last patriarch of Jerusalem, that when the Cal- 
iph Omar entered the city, to take possession of it in the 
name of the False Prophet, " Sophronius bowed before his 
new master, and secretly muttered, in the words of Daniel, 'The 
abomination of desolation is in the holy place.' " * 

IV. The objects of its dislike and resentment are next 
enumerated by the prophet : "It waxed exceeding objects of its 
great toward the South, and toward the East, and hatred - 
toward the Pleasant Land. And it waxed great even to the 
host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and of the 
stars to the ground, and stamped on them. Yea, he magnified 
himself even to (or against) the Prince of the host. And by 
him the Daily was taken away, and the place of his Sanctuary 
was cast down. And a host was given him against the Daily 
by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the 
ground." 

Any map or geographical chart of the Saracenic empire 
is a sufficient proof and illustration of the cor- 

x Geography of 

rectness of Daniel's topography in this connec- the Saracenic 
tion. The western conquests of the caliphs, 

.* Gibbon, vol. vi, chap, li, p. 430, Lond. edit. 



empire. 



90 REASON AND REVELATION. 

though extending even to the Atlantic Ocean, were never- 
theless comparatively small, and were, by the Mahometans 
themselves, called "The sleeve of the robe." 

The host of heaven, or, as the phrase is interpreted by the 
Mahomet's angel, "the mighty and holy people," and the 
opposition to Prince of the host, were the next objects of its 

Christ, to his ' *> 

disciples, and resentment. By the former we are evidently to 
understand the Christians, who, at that time, 
were the only holy people on earth ; and, consequently, by 
the latter is meant the Messiah himself. All this was lit- 
erally fulfilled in the conquests and exploits of Mahomet, 
who greatly magnified himself against both Christ and his 
disciples. He taught that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, 
Christ, and himself were all true prophets, rising in just 
and regular gradation above each other, and that whoever 
hates or rejects any one of them must be numbered among 
the infidels. But by placing himself above them all, he of 
course stood up against the Prince of the host; and by 
placing the Koran above the Bible, and the Crescent above 
the Cross, he cast down the truth to the ground, and prac- 
ticed and prospered. 

" By it also the Daily was taken away, and the place of 
._ \ r iU the Sanctuary was cast down." In interpreting 

Meaning of the J r r> 

Daily in this any ancient documents it is very necessary to 
consider the historical meaning of terms. There 
was a time when the word temple was used in the Sacred 
Canon to denote the building erected by Solomon for the 
worship of Jehovah ; but this word has since been trans- 
ferred from the type to the antitype, from the edifice on 
Mount Moriah to the Christian Church, which, since the 
ever-memorable day of Pentecost, in A. D. 34, has been a 
habitation of God through the Spirit. Thus says Paul, 1 
Corinthians iii : 16-17 : " Know ye not that ye are the tem- 
ple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 91 

any one destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him; 
for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 

And just so there was a time when the Daily signified the 
daily services of the Tabernacle, or of the Temple made 
with hands. But this term has also been transferred from 
the type to the antitype. It has no longer reference to the 
sacrifices and the incense that were daily offered by the 
priests under the Law. It now refers to the daily services 
of the Christian temple, the Sanctuary of the Living God, 
which is the pillar and the support of the truth. And it 
is a very remarkable fact, that while the Little _ , 

By whom this 

Horn of the fourth beast has deluged all West- was taken 
ern Europe with the blood of the saints, it has 
never taken away the daily services of the Sanctuary; but 
the Little Horn of the Goat has removed both the altar and 
the incense from nearly all the churches of the East. 

V. " His power," says Gabriel, " shall be mighty, but not 
by his own power" At first Mahomet appeared It8 means of 
merely as a prophet or teacher of religion. But success - 
his system was in itself utterly impotent. It very soon be- 
came manifest that if the world were ever converted to Is- 
lamism, it must be done by extraneous means, and, there- 
fore, the sword was brought in as an auxiliary iT Se0 fthe 
to the Koran. " The sword," said Mahomet, sword - 
" is the key to heaven and hell. A drop of blood shed in 
the cause of God, or a night spent in arms, is of more avail 
than two months of fasting and prayer. Whosoever falls in 
battle, his sins are forgiven. At the day of judgment his 
wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion, and odoriferous 
as musk, and the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the 
wings of angels and cherubim."* 

But the sword was not his only means of sue- Crafty aml 
cess. "Through his policy," said the angel, cu "" ingpolic> ' < 

* Gibbon, vol. vi, chap. 1, page 334, Lond. edit, of eight volumes. 



92 REASON AND REVELATION. 

"he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand." The following 
brief extract from the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- 
pire/ J will show how very applicable all this is to the fol- 
Extract from lowers of Mahomet : " In the prosecution of the 
Gibbon. war ^ their p U C y W as not less effectual than their 

sword. By short and separate truces they dissolved the 
union of the enemy; accustomed the Syrians to compare 
their friendship with their enmity ; familiarized the idea of 
their language, religion, and manners ; and exhausted, by 
clandestine purchase, the magazines and arsenals of the cities 
which they returned to besiege. They aggravated the ran- 
som of the more wealthy or the more obstinate ; and Chalis 
alone was taxed at five thousand ounces of gold, five thou- 
sand ounces of silver, two thousand robes of silk, and as 
many figs and olives as would load five thousand asses. 
But the terms of truce or capitulation were faithfully ob- 
served ; and the lieutenant of the caliph, who had promised 
not to enter the walls of the captive Baalbec, remained tran- 
quil and immovable in his tent, till the jarring factions so- 
licited the interposition of a foreign master." * 

Another means of success was peace. "By peace he shall 
destroy many" The terms generally proposed 

Offers of peace. if if to _ J f r 

to the vanquished were death, tribute, or peace 
on condition that they would embrace the Mahometan faith. 
Thousands embraced this last condition to their present dis- 
grace and their eternal ruin. 

How very different to all this is the religion of the Prince 
contrast be- of Peace, which, in less than three centuries, by 

tween Maliom- • , .... 1 i i , 1 t> 

etauism and # s own intrinsic power, subdued the Koman 
Christianity. empire, and took possession of the palace and 
the throne of the Caesars. 

end VI. But notwithstanding the temporary tri- 

umphs of this Little Horn, its doom is sealed, 

* Gibbon, vol. vi, chap, li, pp. 423, 4. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 93 

its destiny is determined. "It shall be broken" says Gabriel, 
" icithout hands; " that is, I presume, by Diyine power. The 
Lord will consume it, as he is now consuming the Little 
Horn of the West, by the spirit of his mouth, and he will 
destroy them both by the brightness that will anticipate his 
coming. 

The period of two thousand three hundred years, or pro- 
phetic days, has been assigned as the terminus ad quern of its 
existence. The Sanctuary or Church will then be cleansed 
from every stain and pollution of both Eastern and Western 
abominations. But as this still relates to the future, it does 
not properly fall within our prescribed limits. 

Enough, however, has been said for our present purpose. 
Here is a chain of prophecy extending from the 

, r» -rx • -i i • t i Conclusion. 

days ot Daniel to the present time, eyery link 
of which has its counterpart in the well-authenticated events 
of profane history. And hence it follows that we must either 
wholly ignore all connection between cause and effect, or 
otherwise concede that these are the revelations of that Spirit 
that searches all things, yea the deep things of Jehovah. 

Note. — The reader should be extremely cautious in adopting any theory 
of unfulfilled prophecy. It was never God's purpose to „ . 
gratify our curiosity in this respect by giving us any caution in the 
thing more than a mere outline of future events, and study of unful- 
hence there is great danger of falling into error in our e prop ecy ' 

attempts to fill up the details. It is just here that most writers on 
prophecy forget their proper office as interpreters of the Word of Life, 
and become prophets themselves. 

We all, however, feel that there is a great pleasure in looking into the 
chapter of unfulfilled prophecy, as to a light that shines in a dark place. 
And there is certainly no harm in endeavoring to understand it, pro- 
vided, only, that we do not become dogmatists, nor wrest the Scriptures 
by our own theories and speculations. 

With this caution to the reader, I will add a few words Terminus a 
here touching the probable time when the Sanctuary will quo of the 2,300 
be cleansed. The principal difficulty consists in fixing Jedrs - 
the terminus a quo, or the epoch from which the two thousand three 



94 REASON AND REVELATION. 



SECTION IV.— The Seventy Weeks of Daniel.— 
Chapter ix. 

This chapter consists of three parts. In the first we have 
Daniel's dis- given DaniePs discovery respecting the duration 
covery. f th e captivity. By referring to the prophecies 

of Jeremiah, he had learned that it would continue during 
a period of seventy years.* This period had now almost 
expired. Sixty-eight years had elapsed since Daniel and his 
companions had been carried to Babylon, and still nothing 
in the events and signs of the times seemed to favor their 
deliverance, nor even to indicate that the day of their eman- 
cipation was near at hand. 

hundred years are to be reckoned. It seems most probable, however, 
that this period is to be reckoned, not from the rise or birth of the Ram, 
as some writers have alleged, (for he was in his full strength and vigor 
when Daniel first saw him,) but from the time when he was first attacked by 
Terminus ad the He-goat. If this assumption is warranted by the con- 

quem of the text, it fixes the beginning of this period to the spring 

same period. of ^ year 334 B c ^ and consequent iy i t w iu terminate 

in the spring or about the middle of A. D. 1967. 

And this conclusion seems to be sustained by the chronology of the 
Confirmation twelfth chapter. The reader will observe that in that 
of this from the chapter the future history of the Israelites is summed up 
c ap ei. j^ three leading events. These are, first, their restora- 
tion to Palestine; second, their general conversion to Christ; and, third, 
the conversion of the world through their agency and instrumentality. 

„, , ,. Now each of these events seems to be marked and defined 

Three leading 

events and pe- by the terminus of a distinct period, the first consisting 

riodsofthis f 1260 years, the second of 1290, and the third of 

chapter. ^^ 

If this be so, then we have only to inquire, when did these periods 
commence ? And this seems to be settled, as a question of fact, by the 
angel himself. He says, at least in reference to the sec- 
erminusaquo on( j ^ ^_ ese p er i 0( } S) that its terminus a quo is to be reck- 
oned from the taking away of the Daily. And that this 

* Jeremiah xxv: 8-11, and xxix: 10. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 95 

This seems to have greatly distressed him. Probably he 
thought that, on account of the great wickedness His own prob . 
of the nation, God was about to protract the ^ie reflections, 
period of their sufferings, and he therefore betook himself 
to prayer, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. 

In the second part we have given the prayer Daniel's prayer. 
of Daniel. It consists, 

1. Of an acknowledgement of God's fidelity. V. 4. 

2. Of an humble confession of Israel's sins. Y. 5-15. 

3. Of supplications for Jerusalem. V. 16-19. 

The third part contains God's answer to God > g answer 
this prayer. It was communicated to Daniel t0 tlus prayer - 
through Gabriel, and it embraces the following particu- 
lars. 

I. That a period of seventy weeks had been determined 



Daily of the twelfth chapter is the same as that of the eighth, just con- 
sidered, is evident, because this word, in its restricted meaning, has 
never had but two senses in the Holy Scriptures: the typical and the 
antitypical. The Romans took away the Daily in the typical sense when 
they destroyed Jerusalem, in A. D. 70, (see Daniel xi: 31,) and the 
Saracens took it away in its antitypical sense when they subjugated Pal- 
estine, the conquest of which was commenced in A. D. 632. 

Now that it can not relate to the former of these events is evident, be- 
cause if to A. D. 70 we add the three numbers given in the twelfth chap- 
ter, we are brought down to A. D. 1330, 1360, and 1405. But. nothing 
in the history of these years corresponds with the leading events of the 
prophecy, which seem to mark out prominently three important epochs, 
and hence we conclude that the Daily in the twelfth chapter refers not 
to the type, but to the antitype. 

If, then, to A. D. 632 we add 1260, 1290, and 1335, we have, as the re- 
sult, A. D. 1892, A. D. 1922, and A. D. 1967. The first of 

these, most probably, designates the time when the Israel- erminus a 

' L J ' B quern ot each, 

ites will return to the Holy Land ; the second, the time 

when they will be generally converted to Christ; and the third, the time 

when, through their instrumentality, the Sanctuary will 

be cleansed, and the kingdoms of this world will become ° nc usi0n * 

the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Anointed. 



96 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Period as- on Israel, during which they would continue to 

signed to is- en j y their then covenanted relation to God for 

rael s distinct J J 

and covenanted the accomplishment of the following ends and 

nationality. 

purposes : 

1. To restrain the transgression , or, more particularly, to 
Ends and ob- prevent the universal spread of idolatry. (See 

jectsoftlns. Q^ JJJ . ^ 

2. To seal or shut up sins. This and the first clause con- 
stitute a parallelism. The object expressed in the first clause 
is specific; that in the second is more generic. 

3. To cover iniquity; that is, to cover it with the typical 
blood of the Old Covenant until He would come whose 
blood cleanses from all sin. 

4. To bring in or introduce everlasting righteousness ; that 
is, God's everlasting scheme of justification. 

5. To seal or to confirm and ratify vision and prophecy. 
At the close of these seventy weeks God was about to fix, as 
it were, the seal of heaven on all the predictions of the Old 
Testament, by the introduction of the Gospel and the fulfill- 
ment of his many promises to the fathers; but, in the mean 
time, the agency of the Jews, in their covenanted relations to 
God as his peculiar people, was necessary to the accomplish- 
ment of this end. 

6. To anoint the Most Holy. This title may refer to any 
person or thing that is peculiarly sacred, or that has been 
especially consecrated to God. Here it evidently refers to 
Christ himself, who, about the close of this period, was an- 
ointed with the Holy Spirit and with power.* 

It is evident, from the context, that a considerable length 
_ . . „ . . of time would be necessary for the accomplish- 

Penod denoted J x 

by the seventy nient of all these ends and purposes — much more, 
certainly, than that which is included within a 
period of seventy literal weeks— and hence it is evidently 
* Acts x : 38. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 97 

implied that a day is here put for a year, as in Ezekiel;* 
and that this is, therefore, a period of four hundred and 
ninety years. 

II. The second point embraced in this response to the 
prayer of Daniel is the division of this period Three divisions 
into three subordinate periods of seven weeks, six- of this period - 
ty-two weeks, and one week, or, rather, half a week; or, ac- 
cording to the year-day rule of interpretation, into periods 
of forty-nine years, four hundred and thirty-four years, and 
three and a half years. The terminus of each of these is 
pretty clearly marked by an important event in How each di- 
Jewish history. The first is designated as a ™Xdor des- 
period of very great trouble, during which Jeru- i e nated - 
salem was to be restored ; the close of the second is marked 
by the advent of the Messiah, and that of the third by his 
death. 

III. The third general topic contained in this answer re- 
lates chiefly to the destruction and desolations of Predictions 
Jerusalem. The following particulars are ex- concerning the 

° x second destruc- 

pressed with more or less clearness and full- t*°n of Jerusa- 
lem. 
ness: 

1. That soon after the death of the Messiah the city would 
be destroyed by a foreign prince. 

2. That its destruction would be very great, even as the 
ruin caused by a deluge. 

3. That it would also be of long continuance, even till the 
consummation of God's purposes in reference to it. 

Such then is, in brief, the meaning of this prophecy. Has 
it ever been fulfilled? Let us inquire. 

Our first object must be to ascertain the beginning of the 
period here designated by the seventy weeks. Beginning of 
And here great caution is necessary. True, in- the ,9 ° years - 
deed, we are told very distinctly that it is to be reckoned "from 
7 * Ezekiel iv: 6. 



98 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build 
Jerusalem" But history records no less than four decrees 
or commandments, all of which had some reference to the 
restoration of the Jewish Commonwealth. 

1. The first of these was issued by Cyrus, B. C. 536. It 
is recorded in Ezra i : 2-4. 

Four decrees 

concerning 2. The second was made by Darius Hystaspes, 

Jerusa.en,. ^Q^ f^ rf I 1-12.) 

3. The third by Artaxerxes Longimanus, B. C. 457. (Ezra 
vii : 1-26.) 

4. The fourth by the same monarch, about thirteen years 
later, B. C. 444. (Nehemiah ii: 1-8.) 

From which of these epochs, then, is this period to be reck- 
oned ? Evidently not from the first, for that had special ref- 
erence to the building of the Temple; nor from the second, 
for that was but a reenactment of the first. But to Ezra 
belongs the honor of restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem in 
its most important sense. And hence he is to 

The year 457 B. t L 

c. to be taken this day called by the Jews " Tlie Restorer of the 
nin-otthis Laic" The commission of Nehemiah referred 
period. chiefly to the secular affairs of Jerusalem, and it 

may therefore be very properly regarded as a mere appen- 
dix to that given by Artaxerxes to Ezra ; and hence we think 
that the year 457 B. C. is to be taken as the beginning of 
the four hundred and ninety years. 

If, then, from 457 B. C. we reckon forty-nine years, we 

Extent and ^ n( ^ ^at tne events °f tnat period correspond 
scope of the very exactly with the specifications of the proph- 

first period. J __._ J x A x 

ecy. I or, 

1. It was a period of great trouble. (See the fourth chap- 
ter of Nehemiah.) 

2. It was a period distinguished especially as the era 
of restoration and reformation. The events recorded in 
the thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah occurred about forty- 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 99 

nine years after Ezra received his commission from Artax- 
erxes. 

The second period begins with the year 408 B. C. j and 
if to this we add four hundred and thirty-four Extent of the 
years, it brings us down to the year A. D. 26. ^ ond P eriod - 
But, according to Archbishop Usher and other distinguished 
writers on Chronology, Christ was born four years before 
the epoch which Dionysius Exiguiis fixed as the beginning 
of the Christian Era, and consequently A. D. 26 would ex- 
actly correspond with the thirtieth year of the life of Christ. 
And according to Luke this was the year in which Christ 
commenced his public ministry.* 

The third period is the shortest and most intensely inter- 
esting of the three; but, nevertheless, its chro- Duration of the 
nology is not defined with absolute certainty. third P eriod - 
It is very remarkable that neither the day of our Savior's 
birth, nor the day of his baptism, nor the day of his death, 
is known with absolute certainty. Neither do we know the 
exact number of days during which his ministry lasted; but 
in the prophecy it is given at about three and a half years, 
for it is said that he would be cut off in the midst of the 
week. And this corresponds very exactly with the testi- 
mony of the four Evangelists: for it appears, from the rec- 
ord of John, that Christ's baptism took place sometime — 
probably about six months — before he attended the first 
Passover that occurred during his public ministry.f And 
according to the same Apostle, Christ attended just four 
Passovers during his ministry. J And as this festival oc- 
curred but once a year, it follows that Christ's ministry, so 
far as we can learn from history, must have continued about 
three years and six months, which is in exact harmony with 
the words of the prophecy. 

*Luke iii: 23. f Compare John, chaps, i and ii. 

JSee John ii: 13-17; v: 1-9; vi: 4; and xiii: 1-30. 



100 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Here, then, is certainly a most wonderful harmony be- 
Harmony of tween the various specifications of this prophecy 
with the events an d the corresponding dates and events of his- 
of history. tory. Observe, there is not a single discrepancy in 

the case. There are, it is true, some omissions in the minute 
details of history. But there are no contradictions 

Now add to all this the following well-authenticated facts: 

1. That from the time of Daniel to the death of Christ, 

the law of Moses was God's chief means of re- 

Specifications. 

straining sin and transgression. 

2. That Judaism was about that time very greatly weak- 
ened, and soon after abolished. 

3. That the Christian Church was about that time estab- 
lished, and that it has since become by far the most pow- 
erful means of civilization, infidels themselves being judges. 

4. That about thirty-six years after the death of Christ, 
the Roman general Titus did actually destroy Jerusalem^ as 
if by an overflowing deluge ; and, 

5. That since that time it has been in a state of compar- 
ative desolation. Place, I say, alongside of this prophecy 
all these indubitable facts, and then say, gentle reader, what 

is your conclusion from the premises. Who 

Conclusion. , . , 

but a Being of infinite knowledge could have 
foreseen these events, fixed these dates, and foretold with 
such unerring certainty all the various particulars of this 
eventful prophecy? Concede that the claims of the Bible 
are just and true, and then all this is plain, simple, and per- 
fectly rational. But deny this ; ascribe the book of Daniel 
to any uninspired man, however learned, and you have, on 
this hypothesis, an enigma that is far more wonderful and 
perplexing than the greatest miracle recorded in the Bible. 
In the one case you have a cause fully adequate to the ef- 
fect; but in the other, you have an effect without a cause. 
If, then, thy faith is weak, why choose the harder side? 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 101 

SECTION V. — Prophetic History of the Israelites. — 
Daniel x, xi, and xii. 

In the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth chapters of the book 
of Daniel we have the prophet's last recorded Dat<? Dan ^ 
vision. It occurred in the third year of the w'b last vis- 
reign of Cyrus, and probably also in the last 
year of Daniel. 

It appears that from the beginning of the first month, 
Abib, till after the feast of unleavened bread, The occasion 
Daniel had been fasting on the banks of the ° fthis ™ iou - 
Tigris. The special reasons for this are not given, but it 
is probable that it was on account of the very discouraging 
condition and prospects of his people. 

While he was fasting, an angel appeared to him, very 
much resembling Jesus Christ, as he appeared A nangei com- 
to John on the island of Patmos.f He re- ™ issio "* dto 

1 wait on, and 

ceived his commission to go and wait on the comfort Daniel, 
afflicted prophet when the latter first began to pray; but 
it seems that he was detained twenty-one days, in some w T ay 
and for some reason, by the Prince of Persia. 

The effect of this vision on Daniel and his companions 
is next given. (V. 7-9.) And then we have an Effect of this 
account of Daniel's being strengthened and en- vi f ion ° n Dan- 

& & iel and his 

couraged by this heavenly messenger. (V. 1 0-12.) companions. 

In the fourteenth verse, we have given the general scope 
of all that follows. "And now I am come," said Genei - a i scope 
the angel, "to make thee understand what shall of the prophecy. 
befall thy people in the latter days; for yet the vision is for 
many days." The reader should never forget this in all his 
attempts to comprehend the several parts of the following 
prophecy. 

In the next four verses following, we have an account of 
*Rev. i: 13-16. 



102 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Further Daniel's further prostration , and of his being 

strength and again strengthened and encouraged. 

encouragement o o o 

to Daniel. Finally, the introductory chapter closes with 

God's ainbassa- an accoun t of God's angelic ambassadors at the 

dors at the ° 

court of Persia, court of Persia. 

After these preliminaries, the angel commenced his pro- 
phetic narrative concerning the Israelites. But 

The narrative *■ , . . ,. 

given indirect- as there was much in it to distress the aged 
prophet, and perhaps also for other reasons, the 
narrative is given, for the most part, indirectly, through the 
history and fortunes of those nations with whom God fore- 
saw the Israelites would be associated, and to whom they 
would generally be in subjection. 

For the sake of perspicuity, I will first quote each section 
of the prophecy, and then explain and illustrate 

Proposed order. , . * 

it as briefly as I can. 
I. "Behold there shall stand up yet three Icings of Persia. 
And the fourth shall be far richer than they all. And by his 
strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the 
realm of Grecia" (xi : 2.) 

The Israelites were at that time subject to the Persians; 
and with these, therefore, the angel begins his 

Scope and par- ' ' n ° 

ticuiars of the narrative. The four kings referred to are Cam- 
first section. . . , t o i • l 

byses, or Anasuerus I, omerdis the usurper, 
Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes the Great. In the reign of 
Xerxes the revenue of the empire, according to Herodotus, 
was sixty-four million dollars annually. India alone, the 
twentieth province of the empire, paid into the royal treas- 
ury one Euboic talent of gold, or about eighty pounds avoir- 
dupois, every day.* 

According to the same historian, the army led by Xerxes 
against Greece consisted of two millions six hundred and 
forty-one thousand six hundred and ten fighting men, and 
* Herodotus, Book iii. See, also, Diodorus Siculus, x: 3. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 103 

at least as many more servants and workmen, making in 
all about five millions two hundred and eighty-three thou- 
sand two hundred and twenty persons.* 

II. "And a mighty king shall staled up, that shall rule icith 
great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he 
shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be di- 
vided toward the four ivinds of Jicaven; and not to his posterity, 
nor according to his dominion ichich he ruled ; for his kingdom 
shall be plucked up, even for others besides those." (V. 3, 4.) 

After the death of Xerxes nine other kings reigned over 
Persia. But the angel evidently aims at brev- scope of the 
ity, and as the invasion of Greece by Xerxes second soctlon - 
suggests the conquest of Asia by Alexander the Great, he 
passes immediately from the former to the latter. From the 
given prophecy we learn, 

1. That the principal subject of it would be specifications. 
a might v king. 

2. That his dominion would be very great. 

3. That he would do according to his own will. 

4. That his kingdom would be broken. 

5. That it would be finally divided into four parts. 

6. That it would not be left to his posterity. 

7. That none of his successors would have equal power. 
All this is clearly applicable to Alexander the Great and 

his successors. He was himself but twenty years ^ .. 

J •> Evidence of 

of age when his father, Philip, fell by the hand Alexander's 
of Pausanius. Many then tried to throw off the 
Macedonian yoke. But he very soon brought them all to 
subjection, and in the spring of 334 B. C. he crossed the 
Hellespont at the head of thirty thousand infantry and five 
thousand cavalry, and immediately commenced his career of 
conquest in Asia. He conquered an army of one hundred 
and ten thousand Persians on the banks of the river Gran- 
* Herodotus, Book vii. 



104 REASON AND REVELATION. 

icus, and another of six hundred thousand near the Bay of 
Issus. He then captured Tyre, after a siege of seven months, 
took Egypt, and again overcome Darius, at the head of an 
army of one million soldiers, on the plains of Arbela; and 
soon after this he subjugated all the northern and eastern 
provinces of the empire, and extended his conquests even be- 
yond Indus. He was, therefore, certainly a mighty king. 

His dominion was also a great dominion. In less than ten 
Extent of his years he extended his empire from Ethiopia and 
dominion. t h e i nc iian Ocean, on the south, to the Danube 

and the Imaus Mountains, on the north, and from the Adriatic, 
on the west, to the utmost bounds of civilization on the east. 

He was, moreover, extremely self-willed, putting to death 
His stubborn- many of his most intimate friends simply because 
ness - they would not yield implicitly to his own arbi- 

trary dictation ; such, for example, as Parmenio, Clitus, Ca- 
listhenes, and Orsines. 

He died 323 B. C, and after a conference of seven days, 
Division of his it was agreed to by his generals that Alexander's 
kingdom. half-brother, Philip Aridseus, should be invested 

with the shadow of royalty, and that each of them should 
take charge of a province. Thus his kingdom was at first 
divided into thirty-three parts or provinces. 

But in less than fifteen years his mother Olympias, his 
rate of his pos- w ^ e Roxana, his brother Philip Aradseus, his 
terity. gon Alexander, his son Hercules, and all his re- 

maining relatives were put to death, and the empire was then 
divided into four kingdoms, viz. : Greece, Thrace, Syria, and 
Egypt. These were severally governed by Cassander, Ly- 
simachus, Seleucus Nicator, and Ptolemy Lagus, all of them 
great princes, but none of them equal to Alexander.* 

*For a confirmation of all these facts, and many other interesting de- 
Works of refer- tails of this important section of history and prophecy, 
ence the reader is referred to the original works of Diodorus 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 105 

III. " And the king of the south shall be strong, and one 
of his princes : and he shall be strong above him, and have do- 
minion ; his dominion shall be a great dominion." Or, as I 
think the passage might be more clearly and more properly 
rendered, " And the king of the south, even one of his (Alex- 
ander's) princes, shall be strong : and (another) shall be strong 
above him, and have dominion ; his dominion shall be a great 
dominion." (V. 5.) 

In the investigation of this prophecy, it is important to 
remember that its entire scope has reference to Future omi8 . 
the seed of Abraham, according to the flesh. Bion of the 

' ° kingdoms of 

The narrative, as I before said, is indirect; but, Greece and 
nevertheless, it all relates to the fortunes of the 
twelve tribes, and hence you see why it is that the king- 
doms of Macedonia and Thrace are henceforth passed over 
in silence. These constituted the western portion of Alex- 
ander's dominions, and the Jews were, therefore, in no way 
influenced by either their fortunes or their misfortunes. 

But it was very different with the kingdoms of Syria and 
Egypt. For about two hundred and thirty-five Minute details 
years the Israelites were almost constantly har- Sonuof Syria 
rassed by their mutual jealousies and intrigues. and Egypt - 
Dependent, as they were, sometimes on the former and some- 
times on the latter ; and being always situated near the in- 
tervening boundaries of these kingdoms, they were com- 
pelled, by the force of circumstances, to sympathize and suf- 
fer with them in all their wars and revolutions. This is why 
the angel describes these so very minutely in the following 

Siculus, Justin, Arrian, and Plutarch. But if these can not be conve- 
niently procured, he will find a very interesting outline and illustra- 
tion of all these points in Prideaux's Connection, vol. i, Book viii, and 
also in Rollin's Ancient History, vol. iii, Books xv and xvi. The work 
of Dean Prideaux is especially valuable to the student of the Bible, and 
it should have a place in every Bible library. Harper's edition is the 
one referred to in these notes. 



106 REASON AND REVELATION. 

narrative. He could not cheer the heart of the aged 
prophet by any thing very pleasing and encouraging in the 
fortunes of his people during this eventful period, and he 
therefore very benevolently casts a vail over their sufferings 
and their afflictions, by indirectly describing their condition 
and circumstances through the history of those nations with 
which he foresaw they would be politically and geographi- 
cally associated. 

It is also very important to observe, just here, that Jeru- 
_ , . . salem is made the stand-point of comparison in all 

Geographical m r J ± 

stand-point of the following geographical allusions. The king 

comparison. . , 

ot the JNorth is simply that monarch, or rather 

succession of monarchs, that ruled over those provinces and 

districts that lay north of Jerusalem, and the 

King of the J y 

North and king king of the South is used, in like manner, for all 

of the South. . , . . . . 

those kings that reigned south of Jerusalem. 
The first king of the South was Ptolemy Lagus, called also 
First king of Ptolemy Soter. He was one of Alexander's 
the south. princes, and was strong in wealth, in men, and 

in territory. In the division of the empire he received as 
his portion Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Ccele-Syria, 
and Palestine. To these he afterward annexed 
Cyprus, Phoenicia, part of Lesser Asia, several cities of 
Greece, and some of the .ZEgean islands. He also estab- 
lished a college of learned men in Alexandria, founded the 
famous Alexandrian Library, and did much in many ways 
to promote the prosperity, power, and influence of Egypt. 
First king of But another of Alexander's princes was stronger 

the North. thsm Ptolemy. This was Seleucus Nicator, who 
was at the same time king of the North. After the battle of 
Ipsus he reigned over most of the provinces of Asia Minor, 
Evidence of his all Syria proper, Armenia, Mesopotamia, As- 
superionty. syria, Chaldea, Babylonia, Susiana, Media, Per- 
sia, Carmania, Aria, Parthia, Gedrosia, Arachosia, Drangi- 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 107 

ana, Bactriana, Sogdiana, and a portion of India; and 
having defeated and slain Lysimachus, 281 B. C, be then 
added to his former possessions the kingdoms of Thrace 
and Macedonia. His dominion was, therefore, a great do- 
minion.* 

IV. "And in the end of years they shall join themselves to- 
gether; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the 
king of the north to make an agreement; but she shall not retain 
the power of the arm; neither shall she stand, nor his arm; but 
she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he 
whom she brought forth, and he that strengthened her in these 
times." (V. 6.) 

The angel here passes over the events of several years, 
and next notices an attempt that was made to consolidate the 
two belligerent kingdoms. About the year 256, B. C, An- 
tiochus Theos declared war against Ptolemy Philadelphus, 
and for six years it was carried on with great violence. Bat 
a revolt of nearly all the provinces east of the Tigris made 
it necessary for Antiochus to conclude a treaty Treaty between 
of peace with Ptolemy, and direct all his forces P tolemjT Phila - 

x J ' delpnus and 

to the suppression of this rebellion. After much Antiochus 

. . -i i • • i • Theos. 

court intrigue and political management, it was 
agreed that Antiochus should put away his wife Laodice, and 
her two sons; that he should marry Berenice, the daughter 
of Ptolemy, and that he should entail on her male offspring 
the crowm of Syria 

These conditions were all ratified, and faithfully observed 
during the reign of Ptolemy. Laodice was divorced, and 
the marriage of Berenice was celebrated with violation of 
great pomp and solemnity. But as soon as this treat > r - 
Antiochus heard of the death of his father-in-law, he put 

* For further details on this section, see Prideaux's Connection, vol i, 
book viii, pp. -°»93-425, and vol ii, book i, pp. 1-23; also Rollin's Ancient 
History, vol. iii, book xvi, chap. ii. 



What followed. 



108 REASON AND REVELATION. 

away Berenice, and recalled Laodice. This was the begin- 
ning of an awful tragedy. Laodice, knowing 
the fickle temper of her husband, and being ap- 
prehensive that she and her children might be again sup- 
planted, resolved to improve the present opportunity, and 
to secure the crown for her own son. She therefore caused 
Antiochus to be poisoned; and when she saw him expir- 
ing, she placed in his bed, to personate him, a man named 
Artemon, who very much resembled the king, both in his 
features and in his tone of voice. Artemon performed his 
part of the play admirably. He recommended his dear 
Laodice and her children to the care and sympathies of the 
people, and gave orders that his oldest son by Laodice, Se- 
leucus Callinicus, should be his successor. His death was 
then publicly announced, and Seleucus peaceably ascended 
the throne, which he enjoyed for the space of twenty years. 

Laodice, not thinking herself safe while Berenice and her 
Death of Bere- son were living, concerted measures with Seleu- 
^and attend- cus to destroy them also. Berenice, hearing of 
ants - this, fled with her infant son to Daphne, a town 

about five miles south of Antioch, where she shut herself up 
in an asylum built by Seleucus Nicator ; but being at last 
betrayed by the guards, first her son and then herself, with 
all her Egyptian attendants, were murdered in the basest 
and most inhuman manner. Such was the end of Berenice, 
and of her husband, and of her son, and of those that ac- 
companied her from her native land ; and such was the ex- 
act fulfillment of this very remarkable prophecy.* 

V. " But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up 
in his estate; who shall come with an army, and shall enter 
into the fortress of the king of the North, and shall deal 
against them, and shall prevail : and shall also carry captives 
into Egypt their gods with their princes, and with their precious 
*See Prideaux's Connection, vol. ii, pp. 49-60. 



DIVINE OKIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 109 

vessels of silver and of gold. And he shall continue more 
years than the king of the North. So the Icing of the South 
shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own 
land." (V. 7-9.) 

While Berenice was besieged in Daphne, a report of 
her misfortune reached Egypt, whereupon her „ 

cv ± ' r Conquests of 

brother, Ptolemy Evergetes, immediately col- Ptolemy Ever- 
lected a formidable army and hastened to her 
rescue. Other troops were sent from Asia Minor for the 
same purpose. But they all came too late. Berenice was 
murdered before either army reached the place of her con- 
finement. Ptolemy, however, determined to avenge her 
death. He united his forces with those from Asia Minor, 
put Laodice to death, and made himself master of Syria 
and Cilicia. Thus he entered into the fortress of the king 
of the Xorth. After this he crossed the Euphrates and 
conquered all the provinces as far as the Tigris ; and if the 
progress of his arms had not been arrested by a sedition, 
which required his attention in Egypt, he might have sub- 
dued the whole Syrian empire. But he left the conquered 
provinces under the care of two of his generals, and hast- 
ened to Alexandria, carrying back with him forty thousand 
talents of silver, with a prodigious quantity of gold and 
silver vessels, and two thousand five hundred statues, part 
of which were the Egyptian idols that Cambyses had car- 
ried from Egypt into Persia. 

On his way to Egypt he passed through Jerusalem, where 
he offered many sacrifices to the God of Israel, His offerings at 
to whom he seems to have ascribed his great Jerusalem - 
victories, rather than to his own acknowledged idols. It 
is difficult to account for this extraordinary conduct on 
any other supposition than that, like Cyrus and Alexander, 
he had read this remarkable prophecy, which so perfectly 
accords with the leading events of his life that no one, 



HO REASON AND REVELATION. 

properly instructed, can fail so to apply it. Even the four 
years that he outlived Seleucus are here made a subject of 
prophecy.* 

VI. " But his sons " (i. e., the sons of Seleucus Callinicus) 
" shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great 
forces. And one of them shall certainly come" (i. e., into 
Judea) " and overflow and pass through. Then shall he re- 
turn and be stirred up even to his fortress " (fortress of the 
king of the South). " And the king of the South shall be moved 
with choler, and shall come forth" (toward Judea), " and fight 
with him, even with the king of the North. And he (Anti- 
ochus) shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall 
be given into his (Ptolemy's) hand." (V. 10-11.) 

These and the following verses, as far as the twentieth, 
relate chiefly to Antiochus the Great. Seleucus Callinicus 
died a prisoner in Parthia. He left two sons, Seleucus and 
Antiochus. The former succeeded his father, and assumed 
the title of Ceraunus (the Thunderer), though he was very 
weak both in mind and body ; but weak men most need titles 
in lorious ^° su PP or * their dignity. His reign was short 

reign of Seieu- and inglorious. At the head of a great army, 

cus Ceraunus. . , , , , 

he attempted to regain the provinces lost by 
his father, but was soon afterward poisoned by two of his 
own soldiers, leaving the throne to his brother Antiochus. 
The remark of the angel at this point is very significant, 
and well illustrates the remarkable precision of the whole 
prophecy. Observe, both of the sons of Seleucus were stirred 

up ; but only one of them was successful. An- 

First successes L 7 J 

of Antiochus tiochus having suppressed a rebellion in the 

east, turned his forces against Ptolemy Philo- 

pater, a most vain, luxurious, and profligate debauchee, who 

was then king of Egypt. He first took Seleucia, and then 

*Prideaux's Connection, vol. ii, pp. 60-70, and Rollin's Ancient His- 
tory, vol. iii, pp. 356-361. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. Ill 

recovered all Syria, making himself master of some places 
by treaty, and of others by force of arms. 

During the next campaign he defeated Nicholas, the 
Egyptian general, on the Straits of Mount Lebanon, con- 
quered all Galilee and Persia, and threatened to invade 
Egypt and attack Ptolemy even in his own fortress; but 
this, at length, roused from his lethargy this profligate king 
of the South, and early in the spring of 217 B. C. Ptolemy 
collected an army of seventy thousand infantry, five thousand 
cavalry, and seventy-three elephants, and marched to Paphia, 
a town on the Mediterranean Sea, near the southern borders 
of Judea. Here he met Antiochus with an army which 
Pollin estimates at seventy-two thousand infantry, twelve 
thousand cavalry, and one hundred and two elephants. The 
result of the battle there fought was the defeat His defeat at 
of Antiochus, with the loss of ten thousand men Ra P hia - 
killed and four thousand taken prisoners. Antiochus fled 
to Gaza, and thence to Antioch. Soon after this, all Pales- 
tine and Coelo-Syria again voluntarily submitted to the con- 
querer.* 

VII. "And when he hath taken away the multitude, his 
heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten 
thousands; but he shall not be strengthened by it. (V. 12.) 

Ptolemy, through the aid of his Greek generals, knew 
better how to gain a victory than to profit by „ , 

° J x •> Ptolemy's sub- 

it. Had he taken advantage of his late success, sequent inl- 
and of the rebellion that was then actually going 
on in Asia Minor, it is generally conceded that he might, 
in all probability, have deprived Antiochus of his whole 
empire. But his heart was lifted up by his success, and his 
love of ease and desire for carnal pleasure, moved him to 

* Polybius, Book V; Prideaux's Connection, voL ii: pp. 70-77; Rollin's 
Ancient History, vol. iii : pp. 399-408. 



112 REASON AND REVELATION. 

agree first to a truce for one year, and afterward to the terms 
of peace which his enemy proposed. 

After the retreat of Antiochus, Ptolemy visited several 
ms attempt to cities of Ccele-Syria and Palestine. While at 
enter the Hoiy Jerusalem he offered manv sacrifices, and ex- 

of Holies. it. -, . . . 

pressed a desire and intention to go into the 
Most Holy Place. This produced great excitement and 
alarm throughout Jerusalem. The High Priest informed 
him of the sacredness of the place, and of the law of God 
which forbade his entrance. The Priests and Levites were 
gathered together to oppose his rash design, and the people 
besought him to abandon it ; but all their entreaties and ex- 
postulations only inflamed his excited curiosity. He forced 
his way as far as the sacred court ; but, if we may credit the 
author of the third book of Maccabees, just as he was about 
to enter the temple, God struck him with such a terror and 
confusion of mind, that he was carried out of the court half 
dead. Soon after, he left the city greatly exasperated against 
the whole Jewish nation, on account of what had befallen him, 
and threatening them with his displeasure and vengeance. 
When he returned to Alexandria, he began a cruel per- 
secution against the Jews in that city, in which, 

His persecu- ° ^ ' ' 

tion of the according to Jerome, sixty thousand of them 
suffered martyrdom. Thus did he cast down 
many ten thousands. But neither did his late treaty with 
Antiochus nor his persecution of the Jews serve to strengthen 
him.* 

VIII. " For the king of the North shall return, and shall 
set forth a multitude greater than the former ; and shall cer- 
tainly come {into Judea) after certain years, with a great army 
and with much riches. And in those times there shall many 

*Prideaux's Connection, vol. ii, pp. 77-83; Rollin's Ancient History, 
vol. iii, pp. 408-411. See also Polybius and other original authorities 
cited by Prideaux. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 113 

stand up against the king of the South ; also the robbers (re- 
volters) of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the 
vision, but they shall fall" (V. 13-14.) 

For about fourteen years after the battle of Raphia there 
was peace between Syria and Egypt. In the successes of 
mean time Antiochus, having taken and be- after the battle 
headed Achsens, the leader of the rebellion in ofRa P hia - 
Lesser Asia, and having reduced to subjection Media, Par- 
thia, and some other Eastern provinces, had returned to An- 
tioch with great riches and an immense army. 

As soon as he heard of the death of Ptolemy Philopater, 
and the ascension of his son Ptolemy Epiph- League be- 

i ,i -i , r* ty i tween Antio- 

anes, who was then but five years ot age, he C husandPhiiip 
forgot, or rather disregarded, the obligations of of Macedon - 
the existing treaty, and resolved to extend his dominions 
by the conquest of Egypt. And in this design Antiochus 
was not alone. He and Philip, king of Macedon, entered 
into a league, in which it was stipulated that the latter 
should have the provinces of Caria, Libya, Cyrene, and 
Egypt, and that the former should have all the rest of 
Ptolemy's dominions. At the same time there prevailed in 
nearly all the provinces of the king of the South a very 
seditious spirit, owing to the maladministration of Agatho- 
cles, his prime minister. Many of the Jews also Theh . part iai 
then revolted from Ptolemy. It w T as, no doubt, success - 
the general expectation that the confederated Syrians and 
Macedonians would, under the circumstances, very soon take 
possession of the whole empire, and hence all Ccele-Syria 
and Palestine submitted to Antiochus with very little op- 
position. 

But the decrees of the Roman Senate soon gave a new as- 
pect to the war. The Egyptians, being greatly i nter ference 
distressed on account of the league made against of tbe Eomans - 
their infant king, sent an embassy to the Romans, soliciting 
8 



114 REASON AND REVELATION. 

their protection, and offering them the guardianship of the 
king and the regency of the kingdom during his minority. 
The Romans very willingly accepted this, and sent three am- 
bassadors to Philip and Antiochus, requiring them to desist 
from any further interference in the affairs of Egypt. 

Soon after, while Antiochus was engaged in a war with 
Recovery of Attalus, king of Pergamos, the Egyptian min- 
and Palestine istry sent Scopas, with a great army, into Pal- 
by the Egyp- estine and Ccele-Syria for the recovery of these 
provinces. He soon conquered all Judea, put 
a garrison in the castle at Jerusalem, and returned to Alex- 
andria covered with glory and the spoils of victory. Dur- 
ing this campaign many of the revolting Jews were put to 
death. Joseph us says the Jews submitted to Scopas by 
force, but to Antiochus they submitted willingly.* 

IX. "So the king of the north shall come {into Judea again), 
and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities. And 
the arms of the south shall not withstand; neither his chosen 
people; neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But 
he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will; 
and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand (stand 
firm, or establish his dominion) in the glorious land (Judea) 
which by his hand shall be consumed.^ (V. 15, 16.) 

On the remonstrance of the Roman Senate, Antiochus 
withdrew his forces from Pergamus, and again 

Defeat of Sco- ° J 

pas by Antio- lead them into Ccele-Syria and Palestine. Sco- 
pas was sent against him with a choice army. 
They met at Paneas, near the source of the river Jordan, 
where the Egyptians were defeated with great slaughter. 
Scopas fled with ten thousand men to Sidon ; but he was so 
closely and so strongly besieged by Antiochus that, although 
the government at Alexandria sent for his relief three of their 

*Prideaux's Connection, vol. ii, pp. 83-87; Rollin's Ancient History, 
vol. iii, pp. 451-454; also, vol. iv, pp. 7-20. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 115 

best generals and their most reliable troops, (chosen people,) 
he was forced to surrender, on the condition of life only. 
He and his troops were then stripped and sent back to 

Egypt. 

Antiochus then took all the most fenced cities and strong- 
holds of Palestine. From this time the king _ . + . 

° Palestine re- 

of the North reigned over Juclea, the glorious' taken and held 

,.,,-,. by Antiochus. 

land, by whose hand it was consumed, till driven 
to desperation by the cruelty and inhumanity of Antiochus 
Epiphanes, the Jews threw off the Syrian yoke and main- 
tained a nominal independence, until they were subjugated 
by the Romans, 63 B. C * 

X. "He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of 
his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him ; thus shall he do : 
and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her : 
bid she shall not be on his side, neither be for him. v (V. 17.) 

Having conquered Ccele-Syria and Palestine, Antiochus 
was ready to enter Egypt with the strength of ms vurpose t0 
his whole kingdom, composed now of upright * ak f , Egypt ' 

~ 7 r j: o first by arms 

Israelites as well as idolatrous Gentiles. But and then b y 
the aspect of affairs in Asia Minor and Greece 
seems to have suddenly changed his designs, and, therefore, 
what he was not prepared to do by force he attempted to ac- 
complish by stratagem and diplomacy. With a fraudulent 
design, as Jerome informs us, he sent an ambassador to 
Alexandria, with proposals of marriage between Ptolemy and 
his own beautiful daughter Cleopatra. The conditions were 
accepted, and the marriage afterward consummated. But the 
promised dowry, and all the other attempts of Antiochus to 
corrupt his daughter, could not alienate her from „, 

■*■ op Cleopatra true 

the interests of her husband. Faithful to his to the interests 

. •11 of her husband. 

cause, she even accompanied an embassy sent to 
congratulate the Romans after they had defeated her father at 
« Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 87, 88 ; Rollin, vol. iv, p. 20. 



116 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Thermopylae, and to exhort them not only to drive him out 
of Greece, but also to carry the war into Asia.* 

XI. "After this, he shall turn his face in to the isles, and 
shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause 
the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach 
he shall cause it to turn upon him." (V. 18.) 

When Antiochus thought he had secured the favor of 
conquests of Ptolemy by the proposed marriage, he turned 
the 2EgeanTnd his face to the islands of the sea. With a fleet 
Mediterranean. f one h un d rec i large ships of war and two hun- 
dred smaller vessels, he subdued some of the most important 
maritime places on the coasts of Greece, Thrace, and Asia 
Minor, and took Samos, Eubea, and several other islands in 
the iEgean and Mediterranean Seas. But the Romans soon 
turned the tide of his fortune. Acilius routed his army at 
His subsequent Thermopylae, Livius and iEmilius defeated his 

reverses and n • • • i r> n 

defeat by the ^ ee ^ m two successive engagements, and, finally, 
Eomans. Lucias Cornelius Scipio gained a decisive vic- 

tory over him in Asia Minor, near the city Magnesia, at 
the foot of Mount Siphylus. Antiochus lost fifty thousand 
infantry and four thousand cavalry slain on the field of bat- 
tle; one thousand four hundred more were taken prisoners, 
and he himself escaped with difficulty to Sardis.f 

XII. "Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his 
own land : but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found." 
(V. 19.) 

From Sardis Antiochus went to Celsense, in Phrygia, to 
join his son Seleucus, and thence made all possible haste to 
" the fort of his own land." As soon as he arrived at An- 
tioch he sent his nephew, Antipater, and Zeuxis, former 
His treaty with governor of Lydia and Phrygia, to desire peace 
with the Romans. A treaty was made at Sar- 



the Komans. 



* Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 88-92; Rollin, vol. iv, pp. 20 21. 
f Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 92-96 ; Rollin, vol. iv, pp. 45-76. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 117 

dis, and afterward ratified by the Roman Senate, in which it 
was agreed that Antiochus should deliver up Hannibal, the 
Carthagenian, and Thoas, the Etolian, who were the chief 
instigators of the war ; that he should defray all its expenses, 
which were estimated at fifteen thousand Euboic talents ; that 
he should quit all Asia Minor west of Mount Taurus, and 
that he should give twenty hostages for the faithful perform- 
ance of the stipulated conditions of the treaty. 

Soon after this, five hundred talents were paid to the 
consul at Ephesus, two thousand five hundred more were 
to be paid as soon as the Senate would ratify the treaty, 
and the rest in twelve annual installments. Antiochus was 
greatly perplexed to make these payments. He made a tour 
through his eastern provinces to collect his revenues. When 
he arrived at Elymais he was informed that there was a great 
amount of treasure in the temple of Jupiter Belus. This 
temptation was too strong for a prince pressed as he then 
was for money, and, at the same time, destitute of moral 
principle, and, therefore, he stumbled and fell. Under a 
false pretense, he entered the temple by night, and carried 
away all the wealth that had been treasured up there for 
many years ; but when the people heard of it, Death of Anti _ 
they were so greatly exasperated that they im- ocbus - 
mediately slew him and all his attendants, 185 B. C* 

XIII. "Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes 
in the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall 
be destroyed, neither in anger nor in battled (V. 20.) 

This is a perfect miniature of Seleucus Philopater, the son 
and successor of Antiochus the Great. The an- EvJign of Sek , u . 
nual payment of one thousand talents to the cus Philopater. 
Romans, besides meeting the expenses of his own govern- 
ment, rendered the taxes of the provinces very oppressive 
during his entire reign. He sent his treasurer, Heliodorus ; 
* Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 97, 98; Rollin, vol. iv, pp. 79-87. 



118 KEASON AND REVELATION. 

to rob the temple at Jerusalem, but the God of Israel inter- 
fered to prevent this sacrilege. After a feeble and ignomin- 
ious reign of eleven years, or prophetic days, he was cut off, 
neither in anger nor in battle, but by the secret treachery of 
his own treasurer, Heliodorus, 175 B. C* 

XIV. "And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to 
whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom; but he 
shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. ,y 
(V. 21.) 

The subject of this section is Antiochus Epiphanes, son of 
HowAntiochus Antiochus the Great, and brother of the late 
cured the 8 "' king. He was one of the twenty hostages chosen 
throne of Syria. an( j d e li vere d for the faithful performance of all 
the conditions and terms of the treaty which his father had 
made with the Komans after the battle of Magnesia. In 
this capacity he remained in Italy thirteen years; but for 
some reason his brother Seleucus wished him to return to 
Antioch, and, in order to obtain him, he sent to Rome, as 
a substitute, his only son, Demetrius, who was then about 
twelve years of age. Antiochus was set at liberty, and had 
returned as far as Athens, when he heard that Heliodorus, 
having poisoned Seleucus, was endeavoring to usurp the 
throne, and, moreover, that a strong party had declared in 
favor of his own sister, Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. He 
also knew that Demetrius, who was then a hostage at Koine, 
was the lawful heir and successor of Seleucus. But, not- 
withstanding all these obstacles, he resolved that he would, 
if possible, be the next king of Syria, and what he could 
not obtain by the right of birth or by the choice of the 
people, he determined to secure by his flatteries. Accord- 
ingly, by flattering speeches and fair promises, he gained the 
assistance of Eumenes, king of Pergamos, against Helio- 
dorus. At the same time he greatly flattered the Syrians, 
*Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 102-105: Rollin, vol. iv, pp. 87-121. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 119 

so that, by a show of clemency, he secured their favor, and 
thus, without very much opposition from any of his compet- 
itors, he came in peaceably, and obtained the kingdom by 
flatteries. 

He afterward assumed the title of Epiphanes, i. e., the 
Illustrious. But Daniel here calls him a vile 

His character. 

person, and many of his contemporaries called 
him Epimanes, or the madman, on account of his low, base, 
and lascivious demeanor. We learn, from the writings of 
Polybius, Philarchus, Livy, and other heathen historians, 
that he would often leave his palace, with two or three of 
his domestics, and ramble up and down the streets of An- 
tioch ; that he would visit the shops of goldsmiths, and dis- 
pute with them about the merest trifles of their art ; that he 
would associate, drink, and carouse with the very dregs of 
the people ; that he would go uninvited to parties of pleas- 
ure, and indulge in all the vanities, follies, and wanton fool- 
eries of the young; that he would often lay aside his royal 
dress, put on a Roman gown, and assume the character of a 
Roman politician ; that he would spend large portions of his 
revenue in fits of drunkenness, revelry, and debauchery ; that 
he would sometimes leave his palace and walk about the 
streets in a Roman dress, with a crown of roses on his head, 
and stones under his garments to pelt any who would attempt 
to follow him on such occasions ; that he would bathe in the 
public baths, and disgust all present by his obscene behavior ; 
and, in short, that his general demeanor proved him to be 
a vile and despicable person.* 

XV. "And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown 
before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the Prince of the 
Covenant. And after the league made with him he shall 
work deceitfully: for he shall come up and become strong 
with a small people. And he shall enter peaceably, even upon 
* Prideaux, vol. ii } pp. 97-107; Rollin, vol. iv, pp. 71, 121. 



120 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the fattest places of the province. And he shall do that 
which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he 
shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and richest 
(V. 22-24.) 

Notwithstanding Antiochus's eccentricities and the debas- 
ing idiosyncrasies of his character, the prophet foresaw that 
he would succeed in his ambitious designs, and become pow- 
erful. All his competitors for the crown were swept away 
His treacher- from before him as if by a flood ; and Onias, the 
with the n High Prince of the Covenant, or High Priest of the 
Priest. Jews, was also deposed, and his office was sold 

to his brother Jason for three hundred and sixty talents of 
silver. But after the contract was made with Jason, Anti- 
ochus worked deceitfully : for three years afterward, he again 
sold the High Priesthood to his younger brother, Menelaus, 
for three hundred talents more. 

What follows, as far as the last clause of the twenty- 
fourth verse, is a mere recapitulation and amplification of what 
precedes. From Eome Antiochus came up to Antioch with 
only a few attendants, and for a short time he had but a few 
ins means of adherents in Syria; but through the favor of 
success. Eumenes, the influence of his own insinuating 

manner, and the prodigality of his gifts, he soon became 
strong, and took possession of the eastern as well as most 
of the western provinces, for he did that which neither his 
fathers nor his fathers' fathers had done. With a profuseness 
before unknown, he scattered among the people the prey of 
his enemies, the spoils of their temples, the riches of his 
friends, and even the surplus of his own revenues. Jose- 
„ . „ , , . phus says, " In his gifts he Avas magnanimous 

Evidence of his r J ' ° ° 

extravagance and munificent." The author of the first book 

of Maccabees says, that "in the liberality of his 

gifts he abounded above the kings that were before him." 

And Polybius mentions several instances of his extrava- 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 121 

gance. Among other things, he says that Antiochus would 
sometimes bestow very large gifts on entire strangers, and 
that at other times, standing in the public streets, he would 
throw handfuls of money among the people, saying, " Let 
him take it to whom fortune sends it."* 

XVI. "And he shall forecast his devices against (upon) 
the strongholds (fortifications) for a time." (V. 24.) 

Ptolemy Epiphanes died 180 B. C, and was succeeded by 
his son, Ptolemy Philometor, who was then only six years 
of age. His first guardian was his mother, Cleopatra, the 
sister of Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria. During her 
life peace continued between the king of the North and the 
king of the South ; but after her death, and until the young 
prince reached his majority, the affairs of Egypt were admin- 
istered by Lennseus, an Egyptian nobleman, and Eulseus, 
one of Ptolemy's pedagogues. Soon after these Ground of dim- 
men entered upon the duties of their office, they put/ between*" 
demanded of Antiochus the provinces of Ccele- Antiochus and 

r Ptolemy Pliilo- 

Syria and Palestine, on the ground that they metor. 
belonged to Ptolemy Soter, according to the distribution that 
was made of Alexander's empire after the battle of Ipsus, 
and also because that Antiochus the Great had promised to 
restore them to Ptolemy, as the dower of his daughter Cleo- 
patra; but Antiochus denied the justice of both these claims, 
and in anticipation of war, he, for a time, forecast his devices 
by repairing and strengthening the strongholds and fortified 
cities of these provinces.f 

XVII. "And he shall stir up his power and his courage 
against the king of the South with a great army. And the 
king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a great and 
mighty army ; but he shall not stand, for they shall forecast 
devices against him. Yea, they that feed of a portion of his 

* Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 107-110; Josephus, vol. i, p. 407. 
t Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 109, 110; Rollin, vol. iv, p. 122. 



122 REASON AND REVELATION. 

meat shall destroy him; and his army shall overflow, and 
many shall fall down slain. . And both these kings' hearts 
shall be to do mischief ; and they shall speak lies at one table ; 
but it shall not prosper, for yet the end shall be at the ap- 
pointed time. Then shall he return into his land with great 
richest (V. 25-28.) 

Antiochus, having made all necessary preparations for a 
success of war with Ptolemy, resolved not to wait for the 

during the first enemy, but to attack him in his own fortress. 
campaign. ^he first battle was fought between Mount 

Casius and Pelusium, in which Antiochus was victorious. 
Early the next spring, 171 B. C, he lead another army 
against Ptolemy, routed his forces on the frontiers of Egypt, 

took Pelusium, Memphis, and all the other for- 
ms gains A ' 

during the tified cities of Egypt, except Alexandria. Ptol- 

second. -i p n • 1 • l i i • i 

emy also iell into his hands, in some way which 

history does not record ; but it is generally conceded that 

the misfortunes which at that time befell Egypt were not 

owing so much to the cowardice and incapacity of her king 

as to the injudicious and malicious conduct of those who fed 

upon a portion of his meat, and especially to the corrupting 

influence of Eulaeus, his instructor and guardian. This man 

had purposely led his royal pupil into every extreme of lux- 

. ury and effeminacy, to render him the more in- 

ptoiemy's capable of managing his own affairs and the con- 

education. . , . , , , , 

concerns ol his kingdom, and thereby to secure 

for himself, during the king's majority, the same office which 

he had so much abused during his minority. Ptolemy was 

therefore wholly unfit for the crisis. While in the field he 

always kept himself as far out of danger as possible, and by 

his very effeminate demeanor he so disgusted many of his 

friends and other citizens of Alexandria that they forsook 

Party formed hi m > an d the following year, made his younger 

against him. brother, Evergetes, king in his stead. In this 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 123 

dilemma, it is most probable that he voluntarily surrendered 
himself to his uncle Antiochus for protection. 

Be this as it may, of this we are certain, that for some 
time the uncle and the nephew were associated Mutual false 
together as guardian and ward in the interests both Antiochua 
of Egypt. They ate at the same table, and ^Ptolemy, 
professed for each other the most cordial friendship. An- 
tiochus expressed much concern for the welfare of Philo- 
mator, and the latter acknowledged his very great obliga- 
tions to his uncle, and laid the whole blame of the war on 
Eulseus, his prime minister. But all this was a mere game 
of deception and falsehood; for Ptolemy embraced the very 
first opportunity of freeing himself from the restraints and 
guardianship of his uncle; and as soon as Antiochus had 
secured the peaceable possession of the country, he seized 
upon whatever he saw fit, and enriched himself and his sol- 
diers with the spoils of the Egyptians. Thus did he return 
to his own land with great riches.* 

XVIII. "And his heart shall be against the holy cove- 
nant, and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land." 
(V. 28.) 

While Antiochus was in Egypt, a false report of his 
death was spread throughout Palestine, and Ja- „ , , 

r to ■ J Report of the 

son thought this a fit opportunity to regain the death of Anti- 
High Priesthood. He therefore collected to- 
gether about one thousand men, and marched against Jeru- 
salem. Many of the citizens joined him, with whose aid he 
easily overcame the rest, drove out Menelaus, and unmerci- 
fully put to death all who fell into his hands, and whom he 
regarded as his enemies. 

When Antiochus heard this, he supposed that Hi8 barbaroU8 
the Jews had made a general insurrection, and treatmfilltof 

° ' the Jews. 

he therefore set out immediately to quell it. 

* Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 113, 114 j Rollin, vol. iv, pp. 124, 125. 



124 REASON AND REVELATION. 

What most exasperated him was his being informed that 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem greatly rejoiced when they 
heard the report of his death. He therefore besieged the 
city, took it by storm, and for three days gave it up to the 
fury and avarice of his soldiers, in which time eighty thou- 
sand men were inhumanly butchered, forty thousand were 
made prisoners, and as many more were sold into slavery. 

After this Antiochus entered the Temple, explored the 
Holy and the Most Holy Place, offered swine's flesh on the 
altar of burnt offerings, contemptuously sprinkled broth, 
made of the same, on the Temple, carried away the altar of 
incense, the table of shew-bread, the candlestick, and the 
other golden vessels, to the value of one thousand eight 
hundred talents of gold. He then robbed other parts of 
the city, and returned to Antioch loaded with the immense 
spoils of both Egypt and Judea.* 

XIX. "At the appointed time he shall return and come to 
the south; but it shall not be as the former or as the latter 
(invasion). For the ships of Chittim shall come against him; 
therefore shall he be grieved, and return, and have indigna- 
tion against the Holy Covenant. So shall he do; he shall 
even return, and have intelligence with them that forsalie the 
Holy Covenant:' (V. 29, 30.) 

The next spring, 169 B. C, Antiochus returned into Egypt 
„. with a determination to finish the work of its 

His purpose to 

reduce Egypt entire subjugation, and especially to vanquish 
the party that was now becoming powerful un- 
der Ptolemy Evergetes, the younger brother of Philometor. 
He first led his army against Alexandria ; but this fortress 
was found to be impregnable. He then changed his plan of 
conquest, and resolved to weaken Egypt, and thereby to se- 
cure it the more readily by keeping up a civil war between 
the two brothers, who were then contending for the crown ; 
*Prideaux, vol. ii, p. 115; Rollin, vol. iv, pp. 124, 125. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 125 

and he therefore raised the siege of Alexandria, led his army 
to Memphis, and invested Philometor with such power and 
authority as he thought would enable him to withstand the 
forces of Evergetes; and he himself then returned to An- 
tioch. 

But, to his great mortification, he soon learned that Philo- 
metor had played the hypocrite as well as him- His disappoint- 
self; that he had been fully reconciled to his nient - 
brother Evergetes, and that the two were then reigning 
jointly in Alexandria. 

He then laid aside the mask, and publicly proclaimed his 
intention to take Egypt by force. The winter „ . t . 

c 5 * 7 a •> Besolution to 

was spent in making preparations for the war. take an Egypt 
Early the next spring, 168 B. C, he sent his 
fleet to Cyprus, and, at the same time, he himself led a 
powerful army into Egypt. But this invasion was not like 
either the first or the second; for while he was breathing 
vengeance against Alexandria, within four miles Roman inter . 
of the city, he was met by ambassadors who had ference - 
just arrived in ships from Chittim or Italy, and who, at the 
request of Ptolemy, had been sent by the Roman Senate 
to forbid his further interfering with the affairs of Egypt. 
With one of them, Caius Popilius, Antiochus had formed 
a very pleasant and familiar acquaintance at Pome, and, 
therefore, as soon as he recognized him, he offered to em- 
brace him as his old friend ; but Popilius declined the 
compliment, saying that his country's interests should be 
placed before private friendships, and that he must, there- 
fore, know whether he was an enemy or a friend to the Ro- 
man people. He then handed to him the written decree 
of the Senate. Antiochus read it, and said he would con- 
sult with his friends, and speedily give him such an answer 
as they would advise. But Popilius, with the w r and that 
he had in his hand, drew a mark around Antiochus, and, 



126 REASON AND REVELATION. 

in a very firm and decided manner, said, "Answer the Sen- 
ate before you stir out of that circle ! v This was certainly a 
very haughty demand, but Antiochus had lived long enough 
at Rome to understand it, and, in a few minutes, he said, " I 
will act according to the request of the Senate." 

This put an end to the war, but not to the evil temper 
Revengeful and malicious disposition of Antiochus. He left 
ocims against" Egypt in g reat wrath, on account of his dis- 
thejews. appointment, breathing vengeance against the 

unoffending Jews. When he came to Palestine, he sent 
„.' ,. , Apollonius, with twenty-two thousand men, to 

Diabolical con- *■ 7 J 

duct of Apoiio- destroy Jerusalem. For a few days after his 
arrival, this general concealed his diabolical 
purpose; but, on the next Sabbath, when the people were 
all collected in their synagogues for social worship, he or- 
dered his troops to execute his bloody commission. The 
men were butchered, the women and children were taken 
captives, and the city was plundered, and much of it con- 
sumed by fire. 

Apollonius then built a strong tower on an eminence in 
the city of David, and filled it with soldiers and military 
stores for the further execution of the will of his majesty. 
The temple worship was then wholly suspended, and the en- 
tire city was given up to these idolaters. 

This was but a part of the malicious purpose of Anti- 
T t , t . ochus. He was resolved to execute the same 

Intolerant de- 
cree of Anti- summary vengeance on all the Jews throughout 

his dominions. As soon, therefore, as he re- 
turned to Antioch, he published a decree in which he re- 
quired all the people of his empire to worship the same 
gods that he worshiped, and to observe exclusively the same 
religious ceremonies. As he anticipated, the Gentiles sub- 
mitted to this decree without much opposition. Many of 
the Jews also apostatized, and became the most zealous ex- 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 127 

ecutioners of the king's decree. Thus had he intelligence 
with them that forsook the Holy Covenant. Others patiently 
suffered martyrdom, "not accepting deliverance that they 
might obtain a better resurrection." 

But in Modin, a town in the inheritance of Dan, the 
standard of opposition was raised by Matta- mdelit ofMat 
thias and his five sons, Johannan Kaddis, tatnias and ma 
Simon Thassi, Judas Maccabseus, Eleazar Av- 
aran, and Jonathan Apphus. They were priests of the 
course of Jehoiarib, and all zealously devoted to the laws 
and institutions of Moses. Mattathias, seeing a Jew offer- 
ing sacrifice on a heathen altar, ran upon the apostate and 
slew him. At the same time, Apelles, the Syrian com- 
mander, and all his retinue, were put to death. This was 
the first of a series of heroic exploits that once more se- 
cured to Israel for a time their national independence. 
Mattathias did not live to see the issue. "Worn down with 
the fatigues of the first campaign, he died 166 B. C, hav- 
ing appointed his son Judas Maccabaeus his successor. 

Judas was eminently qualified for the crisis. With a com- 
paratively small force, he defeated the armies Exploits and 
of Antiochus, first under Apollonius, governor judaTitacca- 
of Samaria, then under Seron, deputy-governor ba?U3, 
of Coele-Syria, afterward under Xicanor, lieutenant of Ptol- 
emy Macron, who was then acting as governor of Coele- 
Syria and Phoenicia. Soon after this he routed the army 
of Timotheus, governor of the country beyond the Jordan, 
and, finally, that of Lysias, a nobleman of the royal family, 
to whom the king had committed the government of all the 
provinces west of the Euphrates, with special orders to de- 
stroy the whole Jewish nation and distribute their land to 
others, while he was himself attempting to restore order in 
the eastern portions of his empire. After these victories, 
Judas led his army to Jerusalem, pulled down the heathen 



128 REASON AND REVELATION. 

altar, cleansed the temple, supplied it with new furniture, 
and restored the Mosaic laws and ordinances of worship. 

Antiochus was at Ecbatana, in Media, when he heard of 
the defeat of Xicanor and Timotheus. He immediately set 
out for Judea, threatening vengeance and utter ruin to the 
whole Jewish nation. When near Babylonia, he received 
further intelligence that Judas had also defeated Lysias, re- 
taken Jerusalem, cast down the images and altars that he had 
set up, and fully restored the worship of the God of Israel. 
When he had received this message he became perfectly furi- 
ous, and commanded his charioteers to double their speed, 
that he might the sooner satiate his vengeance on the devoted 
Israelites, declaring that he would make Jerusalem the bury- 
ing-place of the whole nation, and that he would not leave 
within it a single inhabitant. But while he was uttering 
these boastful words the hand of God smote him. He was 
Death of Auti- immediately seized with the most excruciating 
ochus. agony, and, after suffering indescribable tor- 

ments of both mind and body, he expired at Tabae, on the 
borders of Babylonia, an object of disgust to all spectators. 
Such was the awful and monumental end of this " vile per- 
son" according to the united testimony of Polybius, Jo- 
sephus, and the author of the first book of Maccabees.* 

XX. "And arms shall stand on his part, (or in his place,) 
and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take 
away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination 
that malceth desolate" (V. 31. Compare Matthew xxiv : 15.) 

All this evidently refers to the Roman army. From the 
independence death of Antiochus Epiphanes, 164 B. C, to the 
of the jews af- ^ me f ^i Q R oman invasion, the Jews, though 

ter the death of .... 

Antiochus. greatly harassed by the Syrians, maintained in 

some measure their national independence, and the services 

*See on this section Prideaux, vol. ii, pp. 116-136; Rollin, vol. iv, pp. 
128-140; and Josephus, vol. i, pp. 410-419. 



DIVINE ORIGIN 0? THE BIBLE. 129 

of the temple were daily and regularly performed. But in 
the year 65 B. C, the Roman armies stood up „ 

. Roman con- 

and were firmly established in the place of An- quest of Syria 
tiochus. At that time Pompey the Great re- 
duced all Syria to a Roman province, and two years after 
that, having been requested to decide upon the claims of 
Hyrcanus and his brother Aristobulus to the miter and the 
crown of Israel, Pompey led a great army into Judea, took 
Aristobulus captive, slew twelve thousand of his party, who 
had taken refuge in the temple, broke down the walls of 
Jerusalem, restored Hyrcanus to the office of high priest, 
and made him prince over the whole country, on condition 
that he should pay an annual tribute to the Romans; but 
he took away his crown, and confined his jurisdiction to the 
old limits of Judea. 

In A. D. 8, Archelaus, son of Herod the Great, was con- 
demned for maladministration, and banished to T J 

' Judea reduced 

Gaul, and Judea was then reduced to a Roman to a Roman 

province. 

province. 

From that time the power of life and death was taken 
away from the Jews, and their bill of rights was, in many 
other respects, very much restricted. But the mi 

v ' J The scepter not 

scepter had not yet wholly departed from Judah, yet wrested 

i cx\ «i i i i • t • it* • i from Judah. 

because bhiloh had not yet come in his official 
capacity. The Jews still had their Sanhedrim and inferior 
courts of judicature, and still they continued to worship God 
according to their own laws and institutions. 

But when they crucified the Lord of life and glory, the 
cup of their iniquity was full. Anarchy, dis- _ . .. 

1 T. •/ J > Destruction of 

order, and rebellion rapidly increased among the Jerusalem by 

t .,<• rry. ■, -r» . the Romans. 

people till litus set up the Roman ensigns, or 
symbols of abomination and desolation, around Jerusalem, 
demolished its walls, dug up its foundations, slew one mill- 
ion one hundred thousand of its inhabitants, polluted and 
9 



130 REASON AND REVELATION. 

afterward destroyed the temple or sanctuary of strength, and 
put an end to the daily sacrifices, A. D. 70.* 

XXI. "And such as do wickedly against the covenant 
shall be corrupt by flatteries." (V. 32.) 

The change of number here, from the plural to the singu- 
Agency and lar, is very significant. The Roman army first 
Roman em- invaded Judea in the days of the republic. No 
perors. one w ff[ ^hen governed all the provinces. The 

Roman army, under the consuls, was the terror of nations, 
and the proper subject of prophecy relating to the conquest 
of kingdoms ; and hence, even in the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, the eye of the angel still rests on the desolating army. 
But now there is a change from the army to the emperor. A 
new system of religion and philosophy was now threatening 
to desolate the temples of the Romans, to break down their 
altars, destroy their images, change their literature, and rev- 
olutionize the manners and customs of the whole empire. 
To prevent this the most dreadful penalties were threatened, 
and the highest rewards were offered by the successive em- 
perors ; and these, in many cases, were quite effectual. The 
temptations offered were too strong for all who could be in- 
fluenced by a time-serving policy. Multitudes of converted 
Jews, as well as Gentiles, were corrupted or caused to dissem- 
ble by these imperial flatteries. They transgressed the Cov- 
enant, renounced Christianity, and sacrificed to the statues 
of the emperor and the images of his gods. 

XXII. " But the people that do know their God shall be 
strong and do exploits: and they that understand among the 
people shall instruct many." (V. 32, 33.) 

_ , .. _„. There is not on record, within the same com- 

Exploits of the ; 

Apostles and pass, a more graphic description of the lives and 

other primitive , .. ' _ . ,.. ... , 

.teachers of labors of the Apostles and other primitive teacn- 
chnstiamty. erg Q £» Christianity, than we have given here in 

*Josepkus ; vol. ii. pp. 370-442. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 131 

these prophetic words. That most of the early proclaimers 
of the Gospel were of the seed of Abraham according to the 
flesh is universally conceded ; and that they performed a 
series of exploits unparalleled in the history of the world, 
can easily be proved by the united testimony of Jews and 
Pagans, as well as Christians. Never since time began was 
there a more unequal contest, so far as it respects human 
power, than was the war between Christianity and the com- 
bined systems of Jewish and Gentile superstition. The 
advocates of the former were generally without learning, 
without wealth, and without political influence. They had 
to contend against prejudices strengthened by the growth of 
ages; against the learning, wealth, power, and secular in- 
terests of all the proud Rabbis, philosophers, and political 
despots of the world ; and more than all that, had to over- 
come and hold in abeyance all the sinful propensities of man's 
unsanctified nature. But they shrunk not from the contest. 
Enlightened by the Spirit of God, and clothed with the 
power of Omnipotence, they commenced their holy warfare, 
according to prophecy, in the city of Jerusalem. Thence the 
tocsin was sounded throughout Judea, Syria, Asia Minor, and 
all other parts of the Roman empire. Every- where the cry 
was heard, " These that have turned the world upside down 
are come hither also." Philosophers were confounded, ty- 
rants trembled, idols fell, temples decayed, altars moldered, 
and vast multitudes in all parts and from all the sects of 
the known world became obedient to the faith. Such were 
the effects produced, the revolutions wrought, and the victo- 
ries won by the Holy Twelve and their coadjutors in the proc- 
lamation of the everlasting Gospel. " While the Roman 
empire," says Gibbon, " was invaded by open violence, or 
undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion gently 
insinuated itself into the minds of men, grew up in silence 
and obscurity, derived new vigor from opposition, and, 



132 REASON AND REVELATION. 

finally, erected the triumphant banner of the Cross on the 
ruins of the capitol."* 

XXIII. " Yet they shall fall by the sword, and by famine, 
and by captivity, and by spoil, many days." (V. 33.) 

For about three hundred years after the death of Christ, 
all Christians, and especially the converted He- 

Persecution of 7 r * 

the primitive brews, were objects of both Jewish and Gentile 

Christians. . n • 1 n m 

persecution, sometimes, as in the case of Ste- 
phen, they were put to death through the mere envy, malice, 
and popular fury of the multitude ; but more frequently their 
martyrdom was sanctioned by the laws of the empire. The 
emperors Xero, Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Antoninus, Sep- 
timus Severus, Maximums, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian, and 
Dioclesian, according to Augustine, all published decrees au- 
thorizing the persecution of the saints. It is not in harmony 
with my purpose to enter much into details, but the follow- 
ing brief extract from Gibbon, touching the ten years' per- 
secution of Dioclesian and his two colleagues, Maximian and 
Galerius, will be interesting to the reader : " The next day 
Extract from the general edict of persecution was published, in 
Gibbon. which it was enacted that the Christian churches 

in all the provinces of the empire should be demolished to 
their foundations, and the punishment of death was denounced 
against all who should presume to hold any secret assemblies 
for the purpose of religious worship. It was further decreed 
that the bishops and presbyters should deliver all their 
sacred books into the hands of the magistrates, who were 
commanded, under the severest penalties, to burn them in 
a public and solemn manner. By the same edict the prop- 
erty of the church was at once confiscated, and the several 
parts of which it might consist were either sold to the high- 
est bidder, united to the imperial domain, bestowed on the 
cities and corporations, or granted to the solicitations of 
m Gibbon, vol. i, p. 66, Lond. edit. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 133 

rapacious courtiers. After taking such effectual measures to 
abolish the worship and dissolve the government of Chris- 
tians, it was thought necessary to subject to the most intol- 
erable hardships the condition of those who should still re- 
ject the religion of nature, of Rome, and of their ancestors. 
Persons of a liberal birth were declared incapable of holding 
any honors or employments, slaves were forever deprived 
of the hopes of freedom, and the whole body of the people 
were put out of the protection of the law. The judges were 
authorized to hear and to determine every action that was 
brought against a Christian ; but the Christians were not 
permitted to complain of any injury which they themselves 
had suffered, and thus those unfortunate sectaries were ex- 
posed to the severity, while they were excluded from the 
benefits, of public justice." Other decrees followed. The 
same historian adds : " The resentment or the fears of 
Dioclesian at length transported him beyond the bounds 
of moderation, which he had hitherto preserved, and he 
declared, in a series of cruel edicts, his intention of abolish- 
ing the Christian name. By the first of these edicts, the 
governors of the provinces were directed to apprehend all 
persons of the ecclesiastical order, and the prisons destined 
for the vilest criminals w r ere soon filled with a multitude of 
bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers, and exorcists. By a 
second decree, the magistrates were commanded to employ 
every method of severity which might reclaim them from 
their odious superstitions, and oblige them to return to the 
established worship of the gods. This rigorous order was 
extended, by a subsequent edict, to the whole body of Chris- 
tians, who for ten years were exposed to a violent and 
general persecution." * 

The effect of these edicts may be better imagined than 

* Gibbon, vol. ii, chap. xvi. See, also, Waddington's Church History, 
pp. 58-69; Mosheim, vol. i, pp. 51-59, 97, 105, 156-160, 208-211, etc. 



134 KEASON AND REVELATION. 

described. The number of Christians that suffered death 
under their influence was so great that at one time Diocle- 
sian and his colleagues seem to have thought that they had 
really accomplished their diabolical purpose, and, in a pom- 
vaiu boast of pous inscription, they announced to the world 
Diociesian. t j iat they had " extinguished the Christian name 
and superstition, and every-where restored the worship of 
the gods to its former purity and luster." But these were 
vain words, for Christ had said, " On this rock I will build 
my Church, and the Gates of Hades shall not prevail against 
it." 

XXIV. "Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped 
with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatter- 
ies:' (V. 34.) 

These words evidently relate to the help which the con- 
Edicts of con- veiled Hebrews, as well as all other Christians, 
voiof Christ received from the Emperor Constantine. In 
tiaus - A. D. 306 he was proclaimed Emperor of the 

West by the army of Gaul and Britain, and immediately he 
granted full liberty of worship to all his subjects. After his 
victory over Maxentius, A. D. 312, he became master of the 
whole Western empire, and in connection with Licinius, the 
emperor of the eastern provinces, he published a decree of 
universal toleration. This was soon followed by the special 
edict of Milan, in which it was required that all places of 
worship and public lands which had been confiscated should 
be restored to the church without dispute, without delay, and 
without expense. In A. D. 324, Constantine became sole 
emperor, and the edict of Milan was then republished as 
the law of the whole empire.* 

Had Constantine properly comprehended the true genius 

*Murdock's Mosheim, vol. i, pp. 211-213; Waddington's Church His- 
tory, p. 105. See, also, Gibbon, vol. ii, chaps. 14-16, and Lardner's Credi- 
bility, vol. viii, p. 335, Lond. edit. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 135 

of the Christian religion, and merely, as in these United 
States, granted to all his subjects the right to wor- Thdr advaQ 
ship God according to the dictates of their own tages and dis- 
reason and conscience, he would have rendered 
very important service to the cause of Christianity, and very 
greatly helped the Hebrew Christians. In this way the earth 
may still do much to help the woman. But by the union of 
church and state, by abolishing paganism and making Chris- 
tianity the religion of the empire, and himself the arbiter of 
all ecclesiastical controversies, he has left it doubtful, in the 
estimation of many, whether, on the whole, his course was 
really a benefit or an injury to the church. It is certain that 
the aforesaid edicts of Constantine gave some temporary relief 
and advantages to Christians ; and hence the Angel said that, 
after a long period of persecution, the converted Israelites 
would receive a little help. But he anticipated the evils that 
would soon result from this political interference, and, there- 
fore, immediately added, "But many shall cleave unto them 
with flatteries" 

" It is evident," says Mosheim, "that the victories of Con- 
stantine the Great, and both the fear of pun- _ 4 L M 

* Extracts from 

ishment and the desire of pleasing the Roman Mosheim and 

n. , , Gibbon. 

emperors, were cogent reasons, in view ot whole 
nations as well as of individuals, for embracing the Chris- 
tian religion."* And the skeptical but eloquent Gibbon 
adds: " By the edicts of toleration, he (Constantine) removed 
the temporal disadvantages which had hitherto retarded the 
progress of Christianity, and its active and numerous minis- 
ters received a free permission, a liberal encouragement, to 
recommend the salutary truths of revelation by every argu- 
ment which could affect the reason or the piety of mankind. 
The exact balance of the two religions continued but for a 
moment, and the piercing eye of ambition and avarice soon 
* Murdock's Mosheim, vol. i, p. 227. 



136 REASON AND REVELATION. 

discovered that the profession of Christianity might con- 
tribute to the interests of the present as well as of a future 
life. The hopes of wealth and honors, the example of an 
emperor — his exhortations, his irresistible smiles — diffused 
conviction among the venal and obsequious crowds which 
usually fill the apartments of a palace. The cities which 
signalized a forward zeal by the voluntary destruction of 
their temples were distinguished by municipal privileges and 
rewarded w T ith popular donations ; and the new capital of 
the east gloried in the singular advantage that Constantinople 
was never profaned by the worship of idols. As the lower 
ranks of society are governed by imitation, the conversion 
of those who possessed any eminence of birth, of power, or 
of riches, was soon followed by the dependent multitudes." * 

XXV. "And some of them of understanding shall fall, to 
try them, and to purge, and to make them white even to the time 
of the end ; because it is yet for a time appointed" (V. 35.) 

Scarcely had persecution ceased from without when it be- 
gan to rage from within. The edicts of Con- 

Internal perse- o ° 

cutions of the stantine were far more potent in restraining the 
diabolical fury of the heathen than in enlight- 
ening, humbling, and sanctifying the minds and hearts of 
either the ruled or the rulers of a sectarian church. Con- 
troversies arose about Arianisni, Pelagianism, Xestorianism, 
Eutychianism, Monophysitism, Monothelitism, the worship 
of images, and various other heresies, in all of which im- 
perial favor and the terrors of martyrdom had much more 
influence than the inspired oracles of the Old and the Xew 
Testament. The testimony of Gibbon is again in point. 
He says : " The simple narrative of intestine divisions, which 
distracted the peace and dishonored the triumph of the 
church, will confirm the remark of a pagan historian, and 
justify the complaint of a venerable bishop. The experi- 
* Gibbon, vol. ii, pp. -165, 466. Lond. edit. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 137 

ence of Ammianus convinced him that the enmity of the 
Christians toward each other surpassed the fury of savage 
beasts against men. And Gregory Nazianzen most pathet- 
ically laments that the kingdom of heaven was converted 
by discord into the image of chaos, of a nocturnal tempest, 
and of hell itself."* 

In this protracted warfare, as in most similar cases, the 
most intelligent, virtuous, and godly men were _ _, _ . 

o J > o J God s design in 

often the victims of persecution. The same Di- permitting 
vine wisdom that permitted the Apostles to seal 
their testimony with their own blood, and the dying martyrs 
of the west to bear witness to the truth, was also pleased to 
allow many in the east, and especially of the Hebrew con- 
verts, to fall, to try them, and to purge them, and to keep 
them white, even from the reign of Constantine to the end 
of the Greek empire. 

XXVI. "And the king shall do according to his will. And 
he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god; and 
he shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and 
shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished. For that 
that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the 
God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any 
god; for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate 
he shall honor the god of forces. And a god whom his fathers 
knew not shall he honor ivith gold, and silver, and precious 
stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most 
strongholds with a strange god whom he shall acknowledge and 
increase with glory. And he shall cause them to rule over 
many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at the time of 
the end the king of the South shall push at him, and the king of 
the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots 
and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter 
into the countries, and shall overflow and pass overP (V. 36-40.) 
* Gibbon, vol. iii, p. 70. 



138 REASON AND REVELATION. 

It may be proper to remind the reader that the closing 
General scope scenes of the book of Daniel relate chiefly to 
pheticnarra- tne see ^ °f Abraham according to the flesh. 
tive. u ]^" ow j am come/' said the Angel, " to make 

thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter 
days." Sometimes the narrative is wholly indirect, and, 
very often, it is partially so. But the Angel never takes his 
eye off Palestine. The governments of Persia, Macedonia, 
Egypt, Syria, and Rome are all successively introduced by 
the heavenly messenger, bat always with some reference to 
Canaan, and to the Jews as its rightful possessors. 

Keeping this in mind, then, we have given the follow- 
criteriaand hag criteria by which to distinguish and identify 
characteristic t ] ie j^ m p, w i 10 j s ma( ] e £ ne principal subject of 

marks of this ° . 

hing- this section. It seems evident from the narra- 

tive: 

I. That he would be king over Judea and all the surround- 
ing countries. It is not the king of the North nor the king 
of the South ; it is "The King " that appears to the Angel in 
vision. 

II. That he would be an absolute monarch, and rule ac- 
cording to his own will. 

III. That he would be extremely vain and presumptuous, 
even to the assumption of Divine prerogatives. 

IY. That for a time he would succeed in his arrogant, 
ambitious, and irreligious designs. 

V. That he would in some way disregard or discourage 
marriage. 

YI. That forsaking the God of his fathers, he would in- 
troduce a strange divinity and new objects of worship. 

VII. That he would divide the land for gain. 

VIII. That in the latter part of his reign the king of the 
South would make an assault on him. 

IX. And that he would be finally vanquished, and his 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 139 

whole empire completely subjugated by the king of the 
North. 

These characteristics all apply to the successors of Con- 
stantine the Great, who reigned at Constantinople over the 
eastern Roman empire. For, 

I. It is universally conceded by infidels, Jews,, and Chris- 
tians that from the banishment of Archelaus, Period of ko- 
A. D. 8, to the conquests of the Saracens in the ^i«ne rule" 
seventh century, Judea was a province of the over Palestine - 
Roman empire, and that from the removal of the seat of 
government from Rome to Constantinople, A. D. 330, it 
was subject to the will, and under the administration of, the 
emperors of the east. 

II. That the Byzantine or eastern Roman emperors were 
also extremely self-willed and despotic is also mi „ 

J L The Byzantine 

generally known and conceded. Should any, emperors self- 

however, be skeptical on this point, I refer them 

to Gibbon's " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." 

III. They were also exceedingly vain and presumptuous. 
No civil rulers ever assumed more authority Their arrogant 
over their subjects than did the unworthy succes- assui »P tions - 
sors of the great Constantine. The decisions of the ecclesias- 
tical councils were but the echo of the imperial voice, and 
the plain, moral, and positive precepts of the God of heaven 
were often set aside by the edicts of these earthly monarchs. 
Thus did they magnify themselves above every god, and 
thus did they speak marvelous things against the God of 
gods. 

The following historical extracts will sufficiently illustrate 
this characteristic of these Greek or Byzantine Extracts from 
emperors. Neander says : " The cooperation of Neander - 
the emperors having once become so necessary in order to the 
assembling of these councils and the carrying out of their de- 
cisions, it could, of course, no longer remain a matter of in- 



140 REASON AND REVELATION. 

difference to them which of the contending parties they should 
sustain with their power. However emphatically they might 
influence of declare in theory that the bishops alone were en- 
the Greek em- titled to decide in matters of doctrine, still hu- 

perors in eccle- 7 

siasticaimat- man passions proved mightier than theoretical 
forms. Although these councils were to serve 
as the organs to express the decisions of the Divine Spirit, 
yet the Byzantine court had already prejudged the question, 
as to which party should be considered pious and which im- 
pious, wherever it could be contrived to gain over the court 
in favor of any particular doctrine or interest; or in case 
the court persecuted one of the contending doctrinal parties, 
merely out of dislike to the man who stood at the head of it, 
then the doctrinal question must be turned into a means of 
gratifying personal grudges. The emperors were under no 
necessity of employing force against the bishops. By indi- 
rect means they could sufficiently influence the minds of all 
those with whom worldly interests stood for more than the 
cause of truth, or who were not yet superior to the fear of 
man. It was nothing but the influence of the Emperor Con- 
stantine which induced the eastern bishops, at the council of 
Nice, to suffer the imposition of a doctrinal formula which 
they detested, and from which, indeed, they sought immedi- 
ately to rid themselves. * * * Now, as so much depended 
on the fact whether a party had the emperor's vote on his 
side, consequently every art was employed to secure this. 
All that was corrupt in the Byzantine court found its w T ay 
into the bosom of the church. Court parties became doctrinal 
parties, and the reverse. Imperial chamberlains, eunuchs, 
directors of the prince's kitchen, disputed on formulas of 
faith, and affected to set themselves up as judges in doctrinal 
disputes. That which must pass current for sound doctrine 
in the church was subjected to the same fluctuations with the 
parties at court. At length, A. D. 476, Basaliscus, who 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 141 

enjoyed a brief authority, set the example, wholly in ac- 
cordance with the spirit of the Byzantine court, of effecting 
changes in the ruling doctrines of the church by Their arrogant 
imperial decrees, and of settling dogmatic contro- cifaTge the 
vermes by a resort to the same expedient. And J aws a " d , do 2;. 

^ x trine of the Bi- 

this example was soon after but too eagerly fol- bie. 
lowed by other emperors, such as Zeno and Justinian."* 

The same author further adds : " The rage for dogmatiz- 
ing among the Greek emperors had, from the earliest times, 
been the cause of many checks and disorders in the Greek 
Church, and the same thing proved true under Manuel Com- 
nenus, who reigned from A. D. 1143 to 1180. The historian 
Nicetas Choniates was doubtless right in saying the Roman 
emperors were not satisfied to rule and to deal with freemen 
as slaves, but they took it quite amiss if they were not also 
recognized as raise and infallible dogmatists, as lawgivers, 
called to decide on all matters human and divine ."f 

The following is from the learned Gieseler : " Notwith- 
standing these great privileges," says this very Extract from 
critical historian, "the hierarchy became more Gieseler - 
and more dependent on the state. The emperors sent their 
ecclesiastical laws to be promulgated by the bishops, as they 
did their civil laws to the pretorian prefects. Their right to 
do this was unquestioned as long as they confined themselves 
to the external relations of the church, or even to subjects 
connected with its internal government ; but hardly so when 
they began to decide questions of faith by edicts, and to as- 
semble squads only to adopjt articles which they had prescribed. 
The Greek bishops, indeed, became more and more con- 
firmed in the habit of sacrificing their convictions to their 
interests; but the bishops of the Latin Church, favored by 

* Neander's History of the Christian Religion and Church, vol. ii, pp. 
133-135. 

t Vol. iv, p. 533. 



142 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the political condition of their country, were more successful 
in preserving their independence.* 

On this point we will finally hear from the skeptical Gib- 
bon, whom no one will accuse of an intention to confirm and 
Further nius- illustrate the truth of prophecy. He says : " Such 
trations from was the rise and progress, and such were the 
natural revolutions of these theological disputes 
which disturbed the peace of Christianity under the reigns 
of Constantine and his sons. But as these princes presumed 
to extend their despotism over the faith as well as over the 
lives and fortunes of their subjects, the weight of their suf- 
frage sometimes inclined the ecclesiastical balance, and the 
prerogatives of the King of heaven were settled, or changed, 
or modified in the cabinet of an earthly monarch "\ 

Note also the following remarks of the same author con- 
T , cerning the emperor Justinian. He savs: "The 

Intolerant ©I ./ 

character of reign of Justinian was a uniform yet various 
scene of persecution, and he appears to have sur- 
passed his indolent predecessors, both in the contrivance of 
his laws and the rigor of their execution. The insufficient 
term of three months was assigned for the conversion or 
exile of all heretics ; and if he still connived at their precari- 
ous stay, they were deprived, under his iron yoke, not only of 
the benefits of society, but of the common birthright of men 
and Christians."^ 

That nothing may be wanting in our attempts to prove 
and illustrate the vain and blasphemous assumptions of these 
Greek emperors, the reader will indulge us in making one 
more quotation from the " Decline and Fall of the Eoman 
Empire." The learned and eloquent author says: "The 
most lofty titles and the most humble postures which devo- 

* Geiseler's Ecclesiastical History, vol. i, p. 335. 

t Gibbon, vol. iii, p. 32. 

J Gibbon, vol. vi, p. 50. Lond. edit. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 143 

tion has applied to the Supreme Being have been prosti- 
tuted by flattery and fear to creatures of the same nature 
with ourselves. The mode of adoration, of fall- AJ .. 

7 Adoration re- 

ing prostrate on the ground and kissing the feet <miredbythe 

, . ._ . , . „ Greek emperor. 

of the emperor, was borrowed by JJioclesian ironi 
Persian servitude; but it was continued and aggravated till 
the last age of the Greek monarchy, excepting only on Sundays, 
when it was waived from a motive of religious pride. This 
humiliating reverence was exacted from all who entered the 
regal presence, from the princes invested with the diadem 
and purple, and from the ambassadors who represented their 
independent sovereigns, the caliphs of Asia, Egypt, or Spain, 
the kings of France and Italy, and the Latin emperors of 
ancient Rome. 

" In his transactions of business, Liutprand, bishop of Cre- 
mona, asserted the free spirit of a Frank and caseofLiut- 
the dignity of his master Otho; yet his sin- praud - 
cerity can not disguise the abasement of his first audience. 
When he approached the throne, the birds of the golden 
tree began to warble their notes, which were accompanied 
by the roarings of two lions of gold. With his two com- 
panions, Liutprand was compelled to bow and fall prostrate, 
and thrice he touched the ground with his forehead. He 
rose ; but in the short interval the throne had been hoisted 
by an engine from the floor to the ceiling, the imperial 
figure appeared in new and more gorgeous apparel, and the 
interview was concluded in haughty and majestic silence."* 

From these extracts, it is evident that the Greek emperors 
did according to their own will : that they ex- T . m 

* Inference from 

alted and magnified themselves above every god ; the P r 
that they often spoke marvelous things against 
the God of gods, and did not regard the God of their fath- 
ers; and, in a word, that if the Pope of the West was the 

* Gibbon, vol. vii, pp. 100, 101. 



i-eceding 
extracts. 



144 REASON AND REVELATION. 

veritable man of sin, the emperor of tlie East was his twin 
brother. 

IV. It is further evident, from the preceding citations, 
that absolute authority in all matters, human and divine, 
was claimed and exercised by these Byzantine or Greek em- 
perors for about one thousand years, and hence the given 
testimony of Neancler, Gieseler, and Gibbon sufficiently illus- 
trates also the fourth point of our analysis. 

V. Paul said and taught that " marriage is honorable in 
Marriage dia- all f but, from a very early period, the notion 
degraded under °f greater purity and sanctity was associated 
the rme of the with ce iib acy m " t he Greek Church under the 

Greek enipe- J 

rors. emperors, as well as in the Latin Church under 

the popes ; and hence the marriage of the clergy was dis- 
couraged, as polluting and dishonorable, in both the east 
and the west. " The Council of Elvira, in 

Decree of the ' 

council of Ei- Spain," says Neander, "which met in A. D. 
305, and was governed by the ascetic and hier- 
rarchal spirit which prevailed particularly in the Spanish 
and North African Churches, was the first to announce the 
law that the clergy of the first three grades should abstain 
from all marriage intercourse or be deposed."* 

The same subject was also warmly discussed in the Coun- 
cil of Nice, A. D. 325, in which, according to 

Decree of the ' 7 7 ° 

council of the same learned author, it was finally agreed 

that the ecclesiastics of the three first grades, 
when once ordained, should no longer be permitted to marry, 
and the rest was left to the free choice of each individual. 
"And this," he says, " was not a thing altogether new. The 
M ^ „ ., Council of Neocsesarea, in the year 314, had al- 

Of the Council ' J ' 

of Neocaesarea. ready decreed that the presbyter who married 
of the council should forfeit his standing ; and the Council of 
of Ancyra. Ancyra, in the same year, that the deacons who, 

* Ecclesiastical History, vol. ii, p. 147. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 145 

at the time of their ordination, should declare that they 
could not tolerate the life of celibacy, might subsequently 
be allowed to marry ; while those who said nothing on this 
point at their ordination, and yet afterward married, should 
be deposed from their office. How much the ascetic spirit of 
the moral system which then prevailed in many portions of 
the Eastern Church, first giving rise to monasticism, and 
then receiving support from the same system, contributed to 
spread the erroneous notion of the necessity of celibacy to 
the sacred character of the priesthood, is made evident by 
the decisions of the Council of Ganera in Paph- „ 

° x Decree of the 

lagonia, about the middle of the fourth century, Council of Gan- 
which council, at the same time, deserves notice 
as being opposed to this spiritual tendency and to this delu- 
sion. Its fourth canon pronounces sentence of condemna- 
tion on those who would not hold communion with married 
ecclesiastics. But the practice became continually more prev- 
alent in the Eastern Church, for the bishops, at least, if they 
were married, to abandon the marriage relation."* 

But, " like priests like people/' is an old proverb. What 
was dishonorable in the former could not long Effect of these 
be regarded as wholly unobjectionable in the decrees - 
latter; and hence we find that under the Greek emperors 
marriage was not honored and respected as a Divine insti- 
tution of elevating and purifying tendencies, but it was 
merely tolerated as a necessary evil, on account of the weak- 
ness and depravity of human nature. 

VI. The worship of new divinities is another marked char- 
acteristic of this subject of prophecy. That the worship of new 
Greek emperors, though professing Christianity, divinities - 
had really but little reverence and respect for its Divine 
Founder, and for the laws and institutions of his kingdom, is 
quite evident from the testimony already submitted. " But/' 
• ;: Xeander's Ecclesiastical History, vol. ii, p. 147. 

10 



146 REASON AND REVELATION. 

says the Angel, " In his estate he shall honor the god Mauz- 
zim ; even a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor 
with gold, and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant 
things." The word Mauzzim, taken abstractly, signifies mu- 
nitions, bulwarks, fortresses ; but taken concretely, it may de- 
note protectors, defenders, and guardians. This is evidently 
its meaning in this connection, and in this sense it is appli- 
cable to the theological systems of both Rome and Constanti- 
nople. In the Eastern and Western churches, departed saints 
were worshiped as the guardians and protectors of the living. 
This is so generally conceded by all parties that witnesses in 
the case may be regarded as unnecessary; but the follow- 
ing brief extracts from Mosheim and Gibbon will, I hope, 
illustrations n °t be unacceptable to the reader : " The aid of 
from Mosheim. d e p ar ted saints," says the former, u was implored 
with supplications by vast multitudes, and no one censures 
this absurd devotion." * And, again, the same author adds : 
" The temples erected in memory and to the honor of the 
saints were immensely numerous, both in the East and in the 
West. There had long been enough houses of worship to 
accommodate the people, but this age (the sixth century) 
courted the saints by offering them these edifices as a kind 
of presents. Nor did they doubt at all that the saints took 
under their immediate protection and care the provinces, cities, 
towns, and villages in which they saw such residences pre- 
pared for them."f To the same effect is also the following 
testimony of Gibbon : " Without approving the 

From Gibbon. , J . [ l °. 

malice," (of Eunapius,) says this infidel histo- 
torian, "it is natural enough to share the surprise of the 
sophist, the spectator of a revolution which raised these ob- 
scure victims of the laws of Rome to the rank of celestial 
and invisible protectors of the Roman empire"% 

* Mosheim' s Ecclesiastical History, vol. i, p. 342. fib., vol. i, p. 414. 

J Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. iii, p. 530. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 147 

"VII. That these celestial and invisible protectors were 
also honored with gold, and silver, and precious Division of the 
stones, and pleasant things ; that the whole Ro- land for gain * 
man empire was divided among them for gain, each coun- 
try having its own patron saint; and that, from the same 
mercenaiy motives, it was also subdivided among the monks, 
bishops, and other clerical orders, are facts too well known 
to require any special proof or illustration. 

VIII. From the subjugation of Syria and Egypt by the 
Romans till the decline of the eastern Roman No king of the 
empire, no mention is made of the king of the North or south 

*■ i o during the Eo- 

North or the king of the South. The reason of ™ ai1 dominion. 
this is obvious. During all this period the Romans had 
possession not only of Judea, but also of all the countries 
both north and south of it. The geographical distinction so 
often referred to in that part of this prophecy which relates 
to Syria and Egypt had, therefore, no existence while Rome 
or Constantinople governed all western Asia; but this dis- 
tinction was afterward revived by the Saracens _. _ 

J The Saracens 

of Arabia and the Turks of Asia Minor and became king of 
northern Syria. Under the banners of the False 
Prophet, the former left the sandy deserts of the peninsula, 
conquered all Persia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, northern Africa, 
parts of Europe, and, in forty-six years after the flight of 
Mahomet from Mecca, his followers appeared in arms under 
the walls of Constantinople. " During many _ . 

1 ° J Their attempts 

days, from the dawn of light to the evening, the totakecon- 
line of assault was extended from the Golden 
Gate to the eastern promontory, and the foremost warriors 
were impelled by the weight and effort of the succeeding 
columns. But the besiegers had formed an insufficient esti- 
mate of the strength and resources of Constantinople. The 
solid and lofty walls were guarded by numbers and disci- 
pline, the spirit of the Romans was rekindled by the last 



148 REASON AND REVELATION. 

danger of their religion and empire, the fugitives from the 
conquered provinces more successfully renewed the defense 
of Damascus and Alexandria, and the Saracens were dis- 
mayed by the strange and prodigious effects of artificial fire. 
This firm and effectual resistance diverted their arms to the 
more easy attempts of plundering the European and Asiatic 
coasts of the Propontis, and after keeping the sea from the 
month of April to that of September, on the approach of 
winter they retreated fourscore miles from the capital to the 
isle of Cyzicus, in which they had established their maga- 
zine of spoils and provisions. So patient was their perse- 
verance, or so languid were their operations, that they re- 
peated, m the six following summers, the same attack and 
retreat, with a gradual abatement of hope and vigor, till the 
mischances of shipwreck and disease, of sword and fire, com- 
pelled them to relinquish their fruitless enterprise."* In 
like manner ended all subsequent attempts of the Saracens 
to take Constantinople. For many years this new king of 
the South continued to push at the Greek emperors. 

IX. It was reserved for the Turks, the revived king of 
^ ,. c ^ the North, to put an end to the eastern Roman 

The king of the _ > r 

North revived empire. Othman was the founder of the Otto- 
man or Turkish empire. In 1299 he established 
a kingdom in Bythinia, of which Bursa, at the foot of Mount 
Olympus, was made the capital. His successors, Orchan, 
Amurath I, Bajazet I, Mahomet I, Amurath II, and Ma- 
homet II, greatly extended the Ottoman dominions in both 
Asia and Europe. Bajazet reigned from the Euphrates to 
the Danube, all being subject to him but Constantinople. 
To take this was the work of Mahomet II. At 

Siege and cap- 
ture of con- the head of an army of three hundred thousand 

men, and supported by a fleet of three hundred 

•sail, he laid siege to this celebrated metropolis on the sixth 

* Gibbon, vol. vii, pp. 3, 4. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 149 

of April, A. D. 1453, and on the twenty-ninth of May fol- 
lowing the Turks stormed the walls. The last Constantine 
fell as he boldly disputed every inch of ground. Multitudes 
of his subjects were massacred in the first outburst of Turk- 
ish fury ; the rest were sold into slavery ; and when Mahomet 
made his triumphal entry into the city he found it a vast 
solitude.* 

The conquest of Constantinople was soon followed by that 
of Servia, Bosnia, Albania, and Greece, including the Pe- 
loponnesus, several islands in the archipelago, and the Greek 
empire of Trebizond. Thus did the king of the North come 
against the Greek emperor like a whirlwind, with chariots, 
and with horsemen, and with many ships ; and thus did he 
enter into the countries and overflow and pass over. 

XXVII. " He shall enter also into the glorious land, and 
many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out 
of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the chil- 
dren of Amnion. He shall stretch forth his hands also upon 
the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape; but he 
shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of silver, and 
over all the precious things of Egypt, and the Lybians and 
Ethiopians shall be at his steps" (V. 41-43.) 

All this applies clearly to the Turkish sultans, and to 
them only. In A. D. 1481, Mahomet II was Further e vi- 
succeeded by his son Bajazet II, a prince of mild £? nce that the 
and amiable temper. He, however, subdued North and the 

-r-. ,. -| . ,. '. •*• Turkish sul- 

Bessarabia and some important provinces m Asia. tana are iden . 
After a reign of thirty years, he was forced to re- tical - 
sign his throne to his son Selim, surnamed Gavuz the Sav- 
age. This most cruel of the Ottoman monarchs commenced 
his reign with the murder of his brothers, his nephews, and 
forty thousand dissenters from the orthodox faith. Having 
removed all competitors for the crown, he turned his arms 

* Gibbon, vol. viii, chap, lxviii. 



150 REASON AND REVELATION. 

against the Persians, over whom he gained several important 
victories, and from whom he wrested large portions of ter- 
ritory beyond the Tigris. 

He then marched against Gauri, the Mameluke sultan of 
congest of Egypt, wno > m tne l ate Persian wars, had fought 
Syria and Pai- again st the Turks. The two armies met near 

estine. . 

Aleppo, a town in northern Syria. The engage- 
ment was fierce and sanguinary, but Gauri was slain, his 
army defeated, and all Syria added to the dominions of the 
conqueror. Judea was included in this conquest, and from 
that time, A. D. 1516, " the glorious land" has been subject 
to the Sublime Porte. 

" But these shall escape out of his hand, even Edoin, and 
Escape of the Moab, and the chief of the children of Amnion." 
Arabian tribes. These countries were all overrun and pillaged 
by the Turks, but never conquered by them ; and now any 
map of the Turkish Empire is a sufficient proof and illus- 
tration of the correctness of this prediction. 

But the land of Egypt was not so fortunate. Selim met 
and defeated the new sultan, Tuman Bey, near 

Conquest of 7 J 3 

Egypt, Libya, the walls of Cairo. He afterward stormed the 

and Ethiopia. . . _. , ,. , 

city, hung luman before its principal gate, put 
to death fifty thousand of its inhabitants, sent five hundred 
of the most influential families and a vast amount of gold 
and silver and other treasures to Constantinople, and finally 
reduced Egypt to a Turkish province, in which condition 
it remained for about three hundred years. 

After the conquest of Egypt, several of the neighboring 

tribes on the west and south sent ambassadors 

Other con- 
quests of the to Selim, and voluntarily became his subjects. 

Others were subdued by Soleyman, the son and 
successor of Selim, in whose reign the Turkish empire at- 
tained to its greatest extent and the height of its power. He 
headed his armies in thirteen campaigns, took parts of Hun- 



with historic 
events. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 151 

gary and northern Africa, captured Rhodes and other islands 
in the Mediterranean, defeated the Persians, and added Te- 
breez and Bagdad to his dominions. Thus did the Sultan 
of Constantinople stretch forth his hand upon the countries, 
thus had he power over all the treasures of Egypt, and thus 
did the Libyans and the Ethiopians serve him according to 
the most authentic records of mediaeval and modern history.* 
The next section relates to the future — to the final ruin of 
the Turkish empire — and hence it transcends our Harmony of 
prescribed limits. But we have said enough on t^ese prophetic 

Jr <-> specifications 

the subject of prophecy for our present purpose. 
We have now examined from the one book of 
Daniel alone, several hundred predictions, extending over a 
period of more than twenty-four centuries, and relating to 
the most influential and enlightened nations of the world 
during that period, and in every case we have found an ex- 
act agreement between the prophetic specifications and the 
corresponding events of profane history. In a few instances 
we have failed to find in history as full and as detailed an 
account of particulars as we could have desired, but in not 
a single instance have we found any discrepancy between the 
prophetic specifications and the historic events. 

How, then, is all this to be explained and accounted for ? 
It will not do to say, with Porphyrv, that these 41 

J ' L J J > Absurdity of 

so-called prophesies were written after the events Porphyry's 

.. i»ii i -\ t r* i allegation. 

occurred to which they relate. Many oi these 
predictions refer to events that are just now occurring, 
whereas the book of Daniel was written more A geofthe 
than twenty-four hundred years ago. Of this book of Daniel, 
we have very clear and satisfactory evidence ; for, 

1. The book of Daniel is found in all copies of the 
Hebrew Bible, and was shown to Alexander the Great as 

* See, on all these points, Anquiiil's Universal Hist., vol. vi, pp. 105- 
174, and Mavor's Univ. Hist., vol xii, chap. xiii. 



152 REASON AND REVELATION. 

one of the sacred books of the Old Testament, when he 
Evidence of passed through Judea, on his way to Persia, 332 
tins from the B c> So j osep h lls testifies in the following 

Hebrew Scrip- 1 © 

tures and brief extract : " And when he (Alexander) went 

up into the temple he offered sacrifice to God, 
according to the High Priest's directions, and magnificently 
treated both the High Priest and the priests. And when the 
booh of Daniel was shown him, wherein Daniel declared that 
one of the Greeks would destroy the empire of the Persians, 
he supposed that himself was the person intended. And 
as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitudes for the 
present; but the next day he called them to him, and bid 
them ask what favors they pleased of him. Whereupon, the 
High Priest desired that they might enjoy the laws of their 
forefathers, and that they might pay no tribute on the seventh 
year. He granted all they desired."* And hence the alle- 
gation of Porphyry and his school is absurd and preposterous. 
2. The book of Daniel is found in all copies of the Sep- 
„ , . tuagint. This oldest version of the Hebrew 

Further evi- © 

dence from the Scriptures into Greek was made under Ptolemy 

Septuagint. p hiladelphuS; king Q f Egyp ^ a b 0U t 280 B. Ci, 

and from that time to the present it has been in the hands 
and libraries of the learned world, both of Jews and Gen- 
tiles ; and hence it follows that the book of Daniel was cer- 
tainly in existence before the date of this translation. 

But most of the prophecies examined have reference to 
summary of events that occurred long after the times both of 
evenlfthat Alexander the Great and of Ptolemy Philadel- 
have occurred -phug. The coming of the Messiah, the setting 

since the book * © . . 

of Daniel was up of his kingdom, the destruction of Jerusalem, 
the persecutions of the saints, the internal cor- 
ruptions and divisions of the church, the arrogant assump- 
tions and blasphemous pretensions of both the Roman Cath- 
* Antiquities, book xi, chap. viii. 



DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 153 

olic Hierarchy and the Byzantine emperors, the rise and 
exploits of the Saracens and the Turks, the great revival 
and rapid progress of primitive Christianity in the nine- 
teenth century, these and many other events foretold by 
Daniel have all occurred since the Old Testament Canon 
was closed and sealed in the sacred literature of both the 
Hebrews and the Greeks. And as no finite conclusion re- 
intelligence could, by any possibility, have fore- ^uiilfwrit- 16 
seen these matters, it follows, of necessity, that ings - 
Daniel spoke all these oracles as he was moved by that 
Divine Spirit that searches all things; yea, even the deep 
counsels and purposes of Jehovah. 

And when it is remembered that the prophecies examined 
are not the tithe of all that are contained in General con- 
the Old and the New Testament; that evidence erencTtoVhe" 
equally strong and convincing is also furnished wholeBible - 
by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets, the entire 
argument from fulfilled prophecy becomes absolutely over- 
whelming and there is really left no rational way of avoid- 
ing; the conclusion that the Bible is the Woed of God. 

Note. — It would be an easy matter to extend this course of argument 
indefinitely; and, in some respects, it would certainly be very desirable 
to devote at least another chapter to the consideration of the very re- 
markable and unprecedented harmony that subsists between the teach- 
ings of the Bible and even the latest discoveries of science and philos- 
ophy; but the argument has already been protracted much beyond my 
prescribed limits, and as I think enough has been said to satisfy any 
and every candid inquirer after truth that the Bible is of Divine origin, 
I will hereafter regard this as an established fact. 



PART SECOND 



THE CANON OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



The second province of Reason in matters pertaining to 
second prov- Divine Revelation, is to decide on the Canon of 

ince of Reason. ^ Jfrfy ScHptureS. 

The word canon (xavcou) literally means a straight rod 
Meaning of the or carpenter's rule, and hence it has long been 
word canon. uge( j t d eno te the entire catalogue or list of in- 
spired books which God has himself given to the Church as 
the only proper and authoritative rule of both our faith and 
our practice. 

It is not enough to prove simply that the Bible, as a 
The aid of rea- whole, is of Divine origin. It is further neces- 
son necessary gar y £ Q exanl j ne the claims of the several books 

in deciding on ^ 

the canon of that compose it, and also to decide on the merits 
of all the other books for which inspiration has 
been claimed by any portion of Christendom. Here, then, 
we again clearly need the aid of enlightened Reason in our 
attempts to settle this important question. We simply ask 
and require, that in this, as in all other cases, she shall ren- 
der a verdict according to the nature and weight of the evi- 
dence submitted. To do this is her proper province; and 
to this no reasonable man will object. 

(154) 



THE CANON. 155 



CHAPTER I. 

CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

First of all, then, we affirm that the thirty-nine boohs of the 
Old Testament are all canonical. This may be The thirty-nine 
clearly and satisfactorily proved from the fol- Jj^^ment 
lowing considerations: are canonical. 

I. These books were all so regarded and so First BOUrce of 
classified by the last of the inspired Jewish wri- evidence - 
ters. 

For the truth of this proposition we have the united and 
unbroken testimony of all the Jews who have Testimon of 
ever written on this subject from the days of later Jewish 
Malachi to the present time. They all testify 
in substance as follows : that the Old Testament Canon was 
completed by Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah, Malachi, and other 
inspired members of the Great Synagogue, or last School of 
the Prophets, founded by Ezra.* 

This unity of sentiment is a very remarkable and signifi- 
cant fact, and should have very great weight in weight of this 
settling this question. Especially is this the testimon y- 
case, when it is remembered that on most other points they 
were very much divided; as, for instance, on the weight and 
authority of their own traditions. The Pharisees insisted 
on the binding obligations of the Oral as well as of the 
Written Law. But the Sadducees as earnestly protested 
against this, and insisted on making the Written Law their 
only rule of faith and practice. This was the great dividing 

•Buxtorfs Tiberias, book i, chap. x. 



156 REASON AND REVELATION. 



question of these sects. So Josephus testifies. He says: 
The main ques- " Their" (the Sadducees) "custom was to re- 
thTph'aHse" S ard nothing exce pt the Laws," (that is, the 
and sadducees. Written Laws, the Old Testament) ; " for they 
reckon it as a virtue to dispute against the doctors, in favor 
of the wisdom which they follow.* And again he says : 
" The Pharisees inculcated many rules upon the people, re- 
ceived from the fathers, which are not written in the law of 
Moses ; and on this account, the Sadducees reject them, al- 
leging that those things are to be regarded as rules which 
are written " (in the Scriptures) ; but that the traditions of 
the fathers are not to be observed ; and concerning these 
things it is that great disputes and differences have arisen 
among them."f 

But notwithstanding their great zeal for the traditions of 
Reverence and their fathers, the Pharisees never presumed to 
jewTfor the 1 P^ ace an y °f them in the same category with the 
books of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. On 

Old Testament. , . . , . ~ x . 

this point the testimony ot Josephus is also very 
clear and satisfactory. He says : " We have not an innu- 
Testimony of merable multitude of books among us, disagree- 
josephus. j n g f rom anc l contradicting one another, as the 

Greeks have, but only twenty-two books, which contain the 
records of all the past times, which are justly believed to be 
Divine. And of them, five belong to Moses, which contain 
his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind till 
his death. This interval of time was little short of three 
thousand years ; but as to the time from the death of Moses 
to the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, who reigned after 
Xerxes, the prophets who were after Moses wrote down what 
was done in their times in thirteen books. The remaining 
four books contain hymns to God and precepts for the con- 

* Antiquities, book xviii, chap, i: 4. 
t Antiquities, book xiii, chap, xi: 6. 



THE CANON. 157 

duct of human life. It is true, our history has been written 
since Artaxerxes, very particularly, but has not been esteemed 
of like authority with the former by our forefathers because 
there has not been an exact succession of prophets since that 
time. And how firmly we have given credit to these books 
of our own nation is evident by what we do, for, during so 
many ages as have already passed, no one has been so bold as 
either to add any thing to them, to take any thing from them, 
or to make any change in them, but it is become natural for 
all Jews, immediately and from their very birth, to esteem these 
boohs to contain Divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and, 
if occasion be, to die for them ; for it is no new thing for our 
captives, many of them in number, and frequently in time, 
to be seen to endure racks and deaths of all kinds upon the 
theaters, that they may not be obliged to say one word against 
our laws or the records that contain them." * On this one 
point, then, be it observed, the Jews were unanimous. Much 
as were the Pharisees wedded to the traditions of their fa- 
thers, not one of them had ever dared to incorporate any of 
these traditions into the Canon which, they all say, they had 
received from the inspired prophets of the Great Synagogue. 
The reader will observe that Josephus here reckons but 
twenty-two inspired books. And this is still the Ka bbinicai 
custom of many Jewish Rabbis. Their reason for classification of 

" the thirty-nine 

this enumeration is because there are but twenty- books of the oid 
two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. "According 
to this classification, Judges and Ruth make but one book; the 
two books of Samuel, two of Kings, and two of Chronicles, 
make but three in all; Ezra and Nehemiah are one, Jere- 
miah and Lamentations are one, and the twelve Minor proph- 
ets are but one." j Some of the Jewish doctors, however, as 

* Against Apion, book i, sec. 8. 

t New Am. Cyclopaedia, vol. iii, p. 22-3; Home's Introduction, vol. i, chap, 
ii, sec. i, 5; and Bundt's Apparatus Biblicus, book ii, chap, ii, p. 281. 



158 REASON AND REVELATION. 

in the Talmud and the Massorah, separate Judges and Ruth, 
and Jeremiah and the Lamentations, and thus make in all 
twenty-four sacred books; "And, in order to accommodate 
this number to that of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, 
they repeat the Yod three times, as they say, in honor of 
the great name Jehovah, of which Yod is the first letter; 
and, in the Chaldee language, three Yods together express 
this sacred and adorable name."* 

Hence it seems that there has never been any important 
what follows difference of opinion among the Jews with re- 
traordinary gard to the Old Testament. The Thirty-nine 
agreement of books of our modern Hebrew Bibles are the same 

the Jewish 

sects. that have ever been received by the Pharisees, 

the Sadducees, and the Essenes. In the common consent 
of these several parties, we have, therefore, the most con- 
vincing evidence that the Canon of the Old Testament rests 
on the authority of Ezra, Zechariah, Malach, and other proph- 
ets of the Great Synagogue. On no other hypothesis can we 
satisfactorily account for this extraordinary unity of senti- 
ment on a question of so much intrinsic difficulty and per- 
plexity. 

When these books were all collected into one volume is not 
Formation and known with absolute certainty, but it is proba- 

close of the Old v i ii . xi • i j? j_i l _£* 

Testament °l e that this was done for the sake 01 conveni- 

canon. ence, as was the custom before the captivity,f 

very soon after the last book was written by Malachi ; after 
this the work of revision probably continued, as the Jews 
say, till the spirit of prophecy ceased with Simon the Just, 
the last member of the Great Synagogue and last School of 

* Bundt's Ap. Crit., book ii, chap, ii, p. 281, and Stuart on the Canon 
of the Old Test., p. 278. 

t Compare Deut. xxxi : 9 and 26 ; Joshua i : 8, and xxiv : 26 ; 1 Sam- 
uel x: 25; 2 Kings xxii: 8; Isa. xxxiv: 16; Dan. ix: 2; Josephus, book 
v, chap, i, 17. 



lation into 
Greek. 



THE CANON. 159 

the Prophets, about 300 B. C* Of the truth of this, the 
Scriptures themselves furnish strong evidence. In Nehe- 
miah xii : 22, for example, there is mention made of Jad- 
dua the High Priest, and also of Darius Coclomannus, king 
of Persia, both of whom lived at least one hundred years 
after the time of Ezra, and a short time before Simon the 
Just ; and in the third chapter of the first book of Chron- 
icles the genealogy of the sons of Zerubbabel is brought 
down to about the same period ; and hence the year 300 
B. C. is the approximate time that is now most generally 
assigned, by both Jewish and Christian writers, as the 
closing period of the Old Testament Canon. 

Soon after that the entire Hebrew Bible, consisting of the 
aforesaid thirtv-nine books, was translated into _. _ . 

* 7 Its first trans- 

Greek, under the auspices and patronage of 

Ptolemy Philadelphia, for the famous Alexan- 
drian Library, and from that important epoch in sacred lit- 
erature, the Old Testament Scriptures have been in the hands 
of both Jews and Gentiles; so that it has ever since been abso- 
lutely impossible to make any change in these sacred books with- 
out detection. 

If any thing is still wanting to prove that the Canon of 
the Old Testament was completed about the time _ , n a . 

L Threefold di- 

aforcsaid, it is found in the fact that the same vision of the 
threefold division of the books that is now found 
in our Hebrew Bibles, is known to have existed soon after 
that period. It is first mentioned in the Pro- FirRt mention 
logue to the apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus, ofthis - 
or The Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach. The Prologue 
was written by the grandson of Jesus about 132 B. C. ; but 
according to our best chronologers, the book itself was writ- 
s' In the Talmud, Simon the Just is called "one of the remnants of the 
Great Synagogue," which indicates that he had outlived it. — Kitto's Cyclo- 
pedia, vol. i, p. 378. 



160 REASON AND REVELATION. 

ten about one hundred years earlier. And it is evident, from 
the following words of the grandson, that this threefold di- 
vision of the Old Testament Scriptures was current among 
the Jews at that time; that is, about 232 B. C. He says: 
"My grandfather, Jesus, when he had much given himself 
to the reading of the Law and the Prophets and other books 
of our fathers, and had gotten therein good judgment, was 
drawn on also himself to write something pertaining to learn- 
ing and wisdom, to the intent that those who are desirous to 
learn, and are addicted to these things, might profit much 
more in living according to the Law ; wherefore, let me en- 
treat you to read it with favor and attention, and to pardon 
us wherein we may seem to come short of some words which 
we have labored to interpret, for the same things uttered in 
Hebrew, and translated into another tongue, have not the 
same force in them ; and not only these things, but the Law* 
itself, and the Prophets, and the rest of the boohs have no small 
difference when they are spoken in their own language." 

Here, then, we have evidently the same general divisions 
of the Old Testament Canon that are given by Josephus in 
the citation already made from his writings, and by Christ in 
the forty-fourth verse of the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, 
and by the Rabbis in the Talmud and the Hebrew Bible. 
what it implies But the division of any thing implies, of course, 
IZTe °J "L ie the previous existence of the thing itself, and 
canon. hence it is reasonable to suppose that the Canon 

of the Old Testament was completed before the year 232 B. G.f 



* The word Law is also used in a more general sense, to denote the en- 
tire Canon of the Old Testament, because the thirty-nine 

More compre- ^ 

hensive moan- books of which it is composed, taken together as one whole, 
ins of the word were regarded by all the Jews as their rule of life. See, for 
example, John x: 34, and xii: 34; also Romans iii: 19. 
t The various names applied to the third division in no way militates 
against this conclusion. The Canon itself was called by different names 
at different periods. The name Bible was first given to it by Chrysos- 



the Old Test 
nient are ca- 
nonical. 



THE CANON. 161 

II. The thirty -nine boohs of the Old Testament were all fre- 
quently indorsed as canonical by Christ and his second proof 
Apostles. This is evident from the following nine book g j 
passages : "Jesus said unto them, Did ye never 
read in the Scriptures, The stone which the 
builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner; 
this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in _.. f . 

o' Citations from 

our eyes?" (Matthew xxi: 42; Psalm cxviii: the New Testa- 
22, 23.) "Jesus said unto them, Ye do err, not 
knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." (Matthew 
xxii : 29.) " But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled ? " 
(Matthew xxvi: 54; Isaiah liii, etc.) "But all this was 
done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." 
(Matthew xxvi : 56.) " I was daily with you in the temple 
teaching, and ye took me not; but the Scriptures must be 
fulfilled." (Mark xiv: 49.) "And the Scripture was ful- 
filled which saith, And he was numbered with the trans- 
gressors." (Mark xv: 28; Isaiah liii: 12.) "And he closed 
the book, (of Isaiah,) and he gave it again to the minister, 

torn in the fifth century; previous to that it was called the Scripture, the 
Scriptures, the Holy Scriptures, the Divine Scriptures, etc.; and 
just so it was with the various books that compose it; they name8 <ri ve n to 
too have been called by different names at different peri- the Bible and 



ods and in different languages. The Hebrews commonly lts vanou3 
named the sacred books from the first word or words with 
which they severally begin ; but the Greeks named them from their subject- 
matter, and hence the Hebrews called their first book Bereshith, in the begin- 
ning; but the Greeks called it Genesis, creation. The Hebrew name of the 
second book is VeelleJb Shemoth, and these are the names; but its Greek 
name is Exodus, a going out. The name of the third book in Hebrew 
is Vaiyikra, and he called ; its Greek name is Leviticus, because it treats 
chiefly of the Levites. But these different names imply no want of iden- 
tity; and just so it is with respect to the names of the three principal 
divisions of the Hebrew Bible. "The rest of the books" in the Prologue 
of Ecclesiasticus; "The remaining books" in Josephus; u The Psalms" in 
Luke xxiv: 44; and u The Hagiographa" in our more modern literature, 
evidently all refer to the same general division of the sacred books. 
11 



162 REASON AND REVELATION. 

and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the 
synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto 
them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." 
(Luke iv: 20, 21.) "And beginning at Moses and all the 
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the 
things concerning himself." (Luke xxiv : 27.) "And they 
said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us while 
he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us 
the Scriptures!" (Luke xxiv: 32.) "And he said unto 
them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I 
was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are 
written in the Law of Hoses, and in the Prophets, and in the 
Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understand- 
ing, that they might understand the Scriptures" (Luke 
xxiv : 44, 45.) " He that believeth on me, as the Scripture 
hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." 
(John vii : 38 ; Proverbs xviii : 4.) " Others said, This is 
the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Gali- 
lee? Hath not the Scripture said that Christ cometh of 
the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where 
David was?" (John vii: 41, 42; Psalm lxxii; Jeremiah 
xxiii : 5, 6 ; Micah v : 2, etc.) "Jesus said unto them, Is 
it not written in your Law, I said, ye are gods? If he 
called them gods unto whom the word of God came, and the 
Scripture can not be broken ; say ye of Him whom the Father 
hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest ; 
because I said, I am the Son of God ? " (John x : 34-36 ; 
Psalm lxxxii: 6.) "'I speak not of you all; I know whom 
I have chosen ; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He 
that eateth bread with me has lifted up his heel against 
me." (John xiii: 18; Psalm xli: 9.) "While I was with 
them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that 
thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost but 
the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." 



THE CANON. 163 

(John xvii : 12 ; Psalm cix : 8.) " They said therefore among 
themselves, Let us not rend it, (the tunic,) but cast lots for 
it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled 
which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for 
my vesture they did cast lots." (John xix : 24; Psalm 
xxii: 18.) "After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were 
now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, 
I thirst/' (John xix: 28; Psalm lxix : 21.) " For these 
things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled. A 
bone of him shall not be broken. 'And again another Scrip- 
ture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced." 
(John xix : 36, 37 ; Exodus xii : 46 ; and Zechariah xii : 10.) 
" For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise 
again from the dead." (John xx : 9 ; Psalm xvi : 9 ; Isaiah 
liii: 10-12, etc.) "Men and brethren, this Scripture must 
needs be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of 
David, spake before concerning Judas, who was guide to 
them that took Jesus." (Acts i: 16; Psalm cix: 8.) "The 
place of the Scripture which he read was this, He was led 
as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before 
his shearer, so opened he not his mouth." (Acts viii : 32 ; 
see, also, v. 35 ; Isaiah liii : 7, 8.) "And Paul, as his manner 
was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned 
with them (the Jews) out of the Scriptures." (Acts xvii : 2.) 
" These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thes- 
salonica, in that they received the word with all readiness 
of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether these 
things were so." (Acts xvii: 11.) "And a certain Jew 
named Apollos, born at Alexandria, and mighty in the Scrip- 
tures, came to Ephesns." (Acts xviii : 24.) " For he mightily 
convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scrip- 
tures that Jesus is the Christ." (Acts xviii: 28.) "And 
when they had appointed him a day, there came many to 
him into his lodging, to whom he expounded and testified 



164 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, 
both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the Prophets, from 
morning till evening." (Acts xxviii : 23.) " Which (Gospel) 
he had promised before by his prophets, in the Holy Scrip- 
tures" (Romans i: 2.) "For what saith the Scripture?" 
(Romans iv: 3; Genesis xv: 6.) For the Scripture saith 
unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee 
up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name 
might be declared throughout all the earth." (Romans ix : 
17; Exodus ix : 16.) " For the Scripture saith, Whosoever 
believeth on him shall not be ashamed." (Romans x : 11 ; 
Isaiah xxviii: 16; and xlix: 23.) "For whatsoever things 
were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, 
through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have 
hope." (Romans xv : 4.) " Now to him that is of power 
to establish you according to my Gospel and the preaching 
of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery 
which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made 
manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to 
the commandment of the everlasting God, is made known 
to all nations for the obedience of faith : to the only wise 
God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever." (Romans 
xvi: 25-27.) " For I delivered unto you first of all that 
which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, accord- 
ing to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he 
rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor- 
inthians xv : 3, 4 ; Psalm xxii ; Isaiah liii ; Daniel ix : 26 ; 
Zechariah xiii: 17; Psalm ii: 7; xvi: 10, etc.) "And the 
Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen 
through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, 
saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." (Galatians iii : 
8 ; Genesis xii : 3, etc.) " But the Scripture has concluded all 
under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might 
be given to them that believe." (Galatians iii: 22.) "Nev- 



THE CANON. 165 

ertheless, what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bond- 
woman and her son ; for the son of the bond-woman shall 
not be heir with the son of the free woman." (Galatians 
iv: 30; Genesis xxi : 10, 12.) "For the Scripture saith, 
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn; 
and, The laborer is worthy of his reward." (1 Timothy v : 
18; Deuteronomy xxv : 4; and Leviticus xix: 13.) "But 
continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and 
hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned 
them, and that from a child thou hast known the Holy 
Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, 
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is 
given by inspiration of God, and profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that 
the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished for 
all good works." (2 Timothy iii : 14-17.) "If ye fulfill 
the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself, ye shall do well." (James ii : 8 ; 
Leviticus xix: 18.) "And the Scripture was fulfilled which 
saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him 
for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God." 
(James ii : 23 ; Genesis xv : 6 ; 2 Chronicles xx : 7, etc.) 
" Do ye think that the Scrijiture saith in vain, The spirit 
that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy ? " (James iv : 5 ; Gen- 
esis vi : 5; viii: 21; Proverbs xxi: 10, etc.) "Wherefore 
also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold I lay in Zion a 
chief corner-stone, elect, precious ; and he that believeth on 
Him shall not be confounded." (1 Peter ii : 6 ; Psalm 
cxviii : 22 ; and Isaiah xxviii : 16.) " Knowing this first, 
that no prophecy of the Scriptwre is of any private inter- 
pretation ; for the prophecy came not in old time by the 
will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter i : 20.) "And account 
that the long-suffering of God is salvation, even as our be- 



166 REASON AND REVELATION. 

loved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom given unto 
him, hath written unto yon, as also in all his epistles, speak- 
ing in them of these things, in which are some things hard 
to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unsta- 
ble wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own 
destruction." (2 Peter iii : 15, 16.) 

It is evident that in all these passages the word Scripture 
Meaning of the (ypaiprj) or Scriptures (jpacpac) is used like the 
OTScriptui^n word Bible, in a limited and specific sense, to 
these citations. d eno te all those books that were then received 
by the Jews as canonical. But these, according to Josephus 
and other Rabbinical writers, were the same identical thirty- 
nine books that now compose the Hebrew Bible. Indeed, 
it is preposterous to talk of any material change having been 
made in the Hebrew Scriptures since the time of Christ ; and 
hence, these thirty -nine books were all indorsed by Christ 
and his Apostles. But these, as I have shown in the first 
part of this treatise, were severally God\s inspired ambassa- 
dors sent forth to proclaim to the world Heaven's own ap- 
_ , . pointed scheme of iustification, and sanctifica- 

Conclusion -L o ? 

from aii the tion, and redemption. And hence it follows, of 
necessity, that the aforesaid thirty-nine books of 
the Old Testament are each and ail canonical. So reason un- 
hesitatingly decides in view of all the premises. 

It may be well to observe, just here, that it is the original 
The original Hebrew, and not any translation of it, that 
indorted°as y Christ and his Apostles have indorsed as canon- 
canonicai. - 1G ^ j t j s ^ rue ^ na t they often quote from the 

Septuagint or Alexandrian Version of the Original, especially 
Quoting is not when they are addressing either the Greeks 
indorsing. or fljg Hellenists ; but this is no proof that 

it was their intention thereby to indorse that version as 
canonical. They evidently referred to it, for the sake of 
convenience, just as we now refer to our common English 



THE CANON. 167 

version. "When it expresses the mind of the Spirit clearly 
and definitely, they quote it verbatim. But when it fails to 
do this, then they either correct its errors by making the 
necessary changes in its phraseology ; or, otherwise, they 
whollv disregard it, and make their appeal directly to the 
original Hebrew. 

This whole subject has been ably treated by Thomas Hart- 
well Home in his very excellent " Introduction summary of 
to the Critical Study of the Bible." Under the ^° M 
general head of " Quotations in the Xew Testa- Hoiue - 
ment from the Septuagint," he reckons seventy-five that agree 
with said version verbatim; forty-seven that vary from it 
but slightly ; thirty-two that agree with it in sense, but not 
in form ; eleven that differ from it materially and agree with 
the Hebrew ; and nineteen that differ from both it and the 
Hebrew. 

The reader will, of course, receive this remark with caution. 
It is scarcely necessary to remind him that every 

. - Explanation of 

apparent discrepancy is not a real discrepancy, apparent de- 
The accomplished teacher varies his words, and [£ e Hebrew °ili 
phrases, and illustrations to suit the attainments, quotations 

x ' ' found in the 

habits, and capacities of his pupils. Sometimes New Testa- 

-, i . . ment. 

it is best to convey nis meaning in very generic, 
abstract, and highly-figurative forms of expression. And 
sometimes, again, it may be necessary to use nothing but 
the very plainest and most specific words and phrases. All 
such considerations were, of course, a matter of care to the 
inspired writers of the Xew Testament ; and hence, we may 
reasonably expect to find in their writings and quotations 
many apparent departures from the original Hebrew, but 
nothing that really contradicts it. 

III. The canonical authority of the thirty-nine books of the 
Old Testament may, if necessary, be still further proved and 
supported by their own internal evidence and the testimony of 



168 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the Cliristian fathers* But as I aim at brevity in all these 
Third source of discussions, and as the evidence submitted on this 
p^ d t e of Ce the S Sw P oint is entirel y sufficient, I will add no more, 
Testament but simply refer the reader to what has been said 

in Part First on the unity, harmony, and other 
internal evidences of the Divine Origin of the whole Bible. 



CHAPTER II. 

CANON OE THE NEW TESTAMENT. 



The Canon of the New Testament, consisting of twenty- 
on what the ca- seven books, rests, ill like manner, on the au- 
it° n of tiieNe 01 *" thority °f ^ ie Apostles and other inspired members 
Testament of the Primitive Church. This is evident, 

I. From the entire unanimity with which all the 



rests. 



* The first catalogue of the books of the Old Testament given by any 
of the Christian fathers, is that of Melito, Bishop of Sardis, in Lydia, 
about A. D. 170. He was a man of great learning and piety, and com- 
monly called & prophet by his Christian brethren; it may, therefore, be 
interesting to the reader to hear from him what was the number and the 
order of the books of the Old Testament in his day. His catalogue is 
reported by Eusebius as follows: "The five books of Moses: Genesis, 
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy ; then Joshua of Nun, Judges, 
Ruth, four books of Kings, two of Chronicles ; the Psalms of David, the 
Proverbs of Solomon (also called Wisdom), Ecclesiastes, the Song of 
songs, Job. Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Twelve in one book, Daniel, 
Ezekiel, Ezra." 

The books of Nehemiah and Esther seem to be omitted in this cata- 
logue ; but at that time Ezra and Nehemiah were always reckoned a3 
but one book by both the Jews and the Greeks; and critics are still di- 
vided on the question whether Esther was also included under the same 
general head, or omitted, through mistake, by Eusebius. It is frequently 
referred to by Josephus. (See Stuart on the Canon of the Old Testament, 
pp. 257-261.) 



THE CANON. 169 

primitive Christians received and adopted these books as their 
only infallible and all-authoritative rule of faith First source of 
and practice. For, be it remembered, evidence. 

1. That on all speculative questions resting on mere hu- 
man authority the disciples of the first and sec- Tendency of 
ond centuries were exceedingly prone to differ ] ] ' e r,imitive 

° J r Church to di- 

in their opinions. This was a necessary conse- videonspecuia- 

„ , . , . tive questions. 

quence growing out 01 their previous education. 
They had been collected into the Christian Church from all the 
religious and philosophical parties of -the then known world, 
and, as a matter of course, they brought into their new 
relations many of their old habits and modes of thought. 
Some of them were inclined to Platonism, some to Aristo- 
telian ism, some Epicureanism, some to Stoicism, some to 
Phariseeism, and some to Sadduceeism. This old leaven soon 
began to work throughout the entire body. One began to 
say, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; and 
another, I am of Cephas ; and another, I am of Christ. 
Sectarianism was, in fact, the necessary tendency in all the 
congregations, and nothing but Apostolic authority could have 
prevented a division of the primitive church into a great 
number and variety of contending sects and parties; this is 
evident from nearly all of Paul's epistles, as well as from the 
united testimony of ecclesiastical historians. See, for instance, 
the first volumes of Mosheim, Geiseler, and Neander. 

2. But on the question of the Canon there were some 
additional and special reasons that must have special tenden- 
inevitably led to divisions in the primitive c f t0 divide on 

^ - 1 the question of 

church, had it in any sense or in any measure thecanon. 
been a speculative question. On this assumption every one 
would have been inclined to receive those books as canonical 
which most fully coincided with his own philsophical opin- 
ions and religious prejudices — -just as it now is with those 
who practically disregard the authority of God's word; so 



170 KEASON AND REVELATION. 

that in a short time the church would have been hopelessly 
divided, and every little sect and party would have had its 
own favorite canon. 

3. But, notwithstanding these plain and inevitable ten- 
TT ., ... dencies to strife, and division, and sectarianism 

Unity of the ' ' 

church on this in the primitive church, and especially on the 

question. . , . 1 _ . 

question touching their rule 01 faith and prac- 
tice, it is, nevertheless, a remarkable and well-authenticated 
historical fact, that on no other question has any body of men 
eve?- been more fully and firmly united. Indeed, the unity of 
the Israelites on the question of the Old Testament Canon, 
is the only parallel case known in history. During the first 
three centuries, the twenty-seven books of the New Testa- 
ment, and the thirty-nine of the Old, were the only ones 
that were quoted as canonical by any Christian writer.* 
And at no period of the Christian Church were any of 
these twenty- seven books rejected by any Christian writer or 
teacher after a fair examination of the evidence. It is true, 
that for a time, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of 
James, the Second of Peter, the Second and Third of John, 
that of J ude, and the Apocalypse, were by some regarded as 
of doubtful authority. Bat this only proves that the forma- 
tion of the New Testament Canon, was a matter of great 
care and concern among all true Christians. For as soon as 
they had fully investigated the matter, and had clearly as- 
certained from the testimony of competent witnesses, that 
these books had been written and indorsed by inspired 
men, that was with them an end of the controversy. They 
then no longer hesitated to regard and receive them as ca- 
nonical. 

Here, then, we might perhaps safely rest the w T hole ques- 
ts* Paley's Evidences, p. 195, Nairne's edition. Paley speaks only of 
the historical books. But I am persuaded that his remarks may be made 
general, so as to include books of all classes. 



THE CANON. 171 

tion; for even from the premises now before us, it evidently 
follows that the canonical authority of these _ , . 

J Conclusion 

books rests on the authority of the Apostles and from the prem- 

, , , p. , ... , , ises submitted. 

other inspired teachers of the primitive church. 
But, 

II. This conclusion is greatly confirmed and strengthened 
by the consideration that these twenty-seven books _ 

J ° Second source 

were all in existence, and most of them extensively of evidence in 
circulated in the churches, and actually quoted as nouicai au- 
canonical by the Apostolic Fathers, and others, ^ksV/the 
for more than fifty years before the cessation of New Tesfca - 
miraculous gifts. The evidence on this point is 
full and satisfactory; and I think that a few observations 
will make it plain and obvious to all. Be it remembered, 
then, 

1. That the Apostles were all fully endowed with these 
supernatural shifts. Through them they were _ 

I o ° J Extraordinary 

enabled to understand the great scheme and gifts bestowed 

« -, ,. , , ., , ,-, on the Apostles. 

mystery ot redemption, to reveal it to others, 
and also to demonstrate to all who sought to know the 
truth, that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to 
every true believer. This is evident from such passages as 
the following: Matthew x, and also xxviii : 18-20; Luke 
xxiv : 48, 49 ; John xiv : 26 and xvi : 13 ; and the entire 
book of Acts.* 



* I here transgress no rule of logical propriety by introducing these 

witnesses. When a mathematician has once demonstrated „ 

Propriety of 
the truth of a proposition, he may ever afterward use it here introduc- 

as he would a definition or an axiom in any other demon- in s New Testa- 

stration. And just so in the present case. We have al- men W1 ness 

ready proved, in Part First, that the Bible is from God; and hence we 

have now a right to use its facts and its precepts as the testimony and 

teachings of the Holy Spirit. True, indeed, it is still, to some extent, an 

open question with us in this discussion, what books belong of right to 

the Bible : and hence, to some, it may appear irrelevant and improper to 



172 REASON AND REVELATION. 

2. That the Apostles had power to bestow these gifts on 
Their rower to other persons, and that they often actually did 
gfftsTn'Shers t ^ lls * >or tne double purpose of converting the 

world and of edifying the church. See, for in- 
stance, Acts viii : 14-25 ; Romans i : 11 ; and 2 Timothy i : 6. 
See also 1 Corinthians xii and xiv. 

3. But as God is no respecter of persons or of churches, and 
Extent to as the primitive churches were all equally needy 
gifts weiTbe- i n this respect before the books of the New Tes- 
Btowed. tament were written, it is but fair to conclude, 
that what was done for Timothy, was also done for Mark, 
and Luke, and all others who were called to labor in word 
and doctrine; and, moreover, that whatever gifts were be- 
stowed on the Samaritans and the Corinthians, would, in like 
manner, be bestowed on all other churches, under similar 
circumstances, and hence that most, if not all, of the first evan- 
gelists and bishops of the Christian Church were, like Timothy, 
endowed with these extraordinary spiritual gifts* 

4. Many of these would of course outlive the Apostles, 
Period of their an d ft is but reasonable to suppose that some of 
continuance. them would continue to minister to the wants 
of the churches, until at least the middle of the second cen- 
tury. Polycarp, for example, one of John's disciples, and 
bishop of the church of Smyrna for about eighty years, suf- 
fered martyrdom in A. D. 166. And if Polycarp's ministry 
continued so long in Asia Minor, it is fair to presume that 
some other evangelists and bishops who had seen the Apos- 
tles, and who had received from their hands these extraor- 

use any of these books in order to prove that they are really a part of 
the Canon. But the reader will observe that the facts here used in evi- 
dence can not be denied without rejecting the whole Bible as the Word 
of God. But this can not be done, as we have before proved; and hence 
it follows, that the use we here make of these facts, is entirely legitimate. 
*See 1 Cor. xii: 28-31, and Ephes. iv : 7-16. 



ferri 

gifts 



THE CANON. 173 

dinary gifts, would also continue to labor for other churches 
in other parts of Christendom, till at least A. D. 150. 

I have here purposely cut off all ground of debate by 
limiting these spiritual gifts to the very shortest presuma- 
ble period, on the supposition that they were conferred on 
evangelists, pastors, and teachers, solely through __ , 

o J r J -J o Modes of con- 

the agency of the Apostles. But every student 
of the Bible knows very well that these gifts were 
not always so bestowed. Christ gave them sometimes to his 
disciples directly, without any human instrumentality in the 
case. He did so, on the day of Pentecost, when the Chris- 
tian Church was first established ; he did so seven years after 
this, when the first fruits of the Gentiles were received into 
the fold and family of God ; and he may have done so in a 
thousand other cases, whenever and wherever the interests of 
his Church required it. And if so, it is by no means neces- 
sary to suppose that these gifts were confined to the first and 
second centuries; they may have extended to the Their duration 
third, and, if need be, even to the fourth. And ancient"^! - 
this is just what all ecclesiastical historians of ters - 
the first centuries testify. The learned translator of Mos- 
heim's Ecclesiastical History says "That what are called the 
miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were liberally conferred 
not only in this (the second), but also in the following cen- 
tury, especially on those engaged in propagating the Gospel, 
all who are called Christians believe, on the unanimous and 
concordant testimony of all the ancient writers. Nor do we, 
in my opinion, hereby incur any just charge of departing 
from sound reason ; for, as these witnesses were all grave 
men, fair and honest, some of them philosophers — men who 
lived in different countries, and relate not what they heard, 
but what they saw, call God to witness the truth of their 
declarations (see Origen Contra Celsum, book i, p. 35, Spen- 
cer's edit.), and do not claim for themselves, but attribute to 



174 REASON AND REVELATION. 

others these miraculous powers, what reason can there be 
for refusing to believe them?* 

If, then, there is any reliance to be placed on " the unani- 
No debatable mous and concordant testimony of all the ancient 
in°thiB discus- writers/ 7 we might safely extend the period of 
6l0U - these miraculous gifts to at least the middle of 

the third century; but it is not necessary to do this in our 
present argument, and I wish, in this whole discussion, to 
occupy nothing but the safest and most reliable ground. 

5. However these gifts were received and imparted, one 
Qualifications thing is certain, that those who possessed them 
of these spirit- were divinely qualified to judge of the character 
judge of the of any document, and to decide infallibly whether 
it was of God and had any just claims to a place 
in the Canon or not. This is evident from such passages as 
the following : " If any man think himself to be a prophet 
or a spiritual man, let him acknowledge that the things that 
I write unto you are the Commandments of the Lord." (1 
Cor. xiv : 37.) " But ye have an unction (a spiritual gift) 
from the Holy One, and ye know all things." (1 John ii: 
20.) And in the twenty-seventh verse of the same chapter, 
John adds : " But the anointing which ye have received of 
him abides in you, and ye need not that any man teach you ; 
but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is 
truth, and is no lie; and even as it hath taught you, ye 
shall abide in him." 

The only remaining question, therefore, to be considered 
The oni re * s smi ply this : Whether the aforesaid twenty - 
maining gues- seven books were in existence long enough to 
be thoroughly examined and approved by in- 
spired men before the cessation of miraculous gifts in the 
churches? for I do not think it necessary to pause here in 
order to prove that while these gifts continued they were 
* Murdock's Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. i, p. 102. 



evidence on 
this point. 



THE CANON. 175 

constantly exercised in the defense of the truth ; nor is it 
necessary to prove that the whole church would receive and 
respect the accredited decisions of her inspired men as the 
voice of God in such matters. It is enough to show that 
the aforesaid books were all in the hands of at least some 
of the churches for a number of years before the age of 
miracles had passed away ; and on this point it gives me 
pleasure to say the evidence is fall and satisfac- _ „ 

* J Fullness of the 

tory. True, indeed, it is now difficult, perhaps 
impossible, to determine, with absolute certainty, 
the precise time when some of these books were written ; 
but all writers who have any claim on our respect for their 
learning and candor concede that they were all in existence 
before the close of the first century. 

I regret that my prescribed limits will not allow me to 
make any thing like a full statement of the evidence that 
might be brought forward in favor of this allegation. 
For this and many other interesting details relating to 
the genuineness and authenticity of these books, I must 
refer the reader to Lardner's Credibility of the works of refer- 
Gospel History, Home's Introduction to the ence - 
Critical Study of the Bible, Davidson's Introduction to the 
New Testament, and Dean Alford's Prolegomena to the 
the last edition of his Greek Testament. 

But some proof on so important a point is essential to 
the proposed plan and object of this work, and Kind and 
I will, therefore, endeavor to present as briefly aence^Lcted 
and plainly as I can a mere outline of the evi- for tLis work - 
dence, confining myself chiefly to the Scriptural quotations 
and allusions of the Apostolic fathers. 

We will begin with the Epistle of Barnabas. And here 
it is proper to say that some doubts have been Thfj Epistle of 
entertained respecting both the authorship and Barnabas - 
the date of this epistle : "But the external evidence is unani- 



176 KEASON AND KEVELATION. 

mous in ascribing it to Barnabas, the companion of Paul." * 
It was quoted as such by Clement of Alexandria, in the second 
century, and by Origen, in the beginning of the third ; and 
hence Lardner, after weighing all the evidence relating to 
its dute and both its date and its authorship, comes to the 
author. conclusion that Barnabas, the companion of 

Paul, was most likely its author, and that it was certainly 
written soon after the destruction of Jerusalem, probably 
about A. D. 71 or 72.f 

For the sake of convenience in comparing the quotations 
and allusions with the Scriptures themselves, I will place 
them in parallel columns; and for the sake of brevity, I will 
ordinarily use but one quotation from each of the several 
books to which the authors refer. In the Epistle of Bar- 
nabas we have but few quotations, but many allusions. The 
following may be taken as a specimen: 

NEW TESTAMENT. BARNABAS. 

I. So the last shall be first, and I. Let us, therefore, beware, 

the first last, for lest it should happen to us as 

Quoted ami in- many are called, it is written : There are many 

nabas 1 ^ *"" hut ^ W choSGn - Called > f eW ^lOSen. (Ch. iv.) 

(Matt, xx : 16.) 

II. Give to every man that II. Give to every one that 
asketh thee. (Luke vi: 30.) asketh thee. (Ch. xix.) 

III. Know ye not that ye III. For, my brethren, the 
are the temple of God, and that habitation of our heart is a holy 
the Spirit of God dwells in temple to the Lord. (Ch. vi.) 
you? (1 Cor. iii : 16.) 

IV. Kedeeming the time, be- IV. Seeing, then, the days are 
cause the days are evil. Where- exceeding evil, and the adver- 
fore he ye not unwise, but un- sary has the power of this present 
derstanding what the mind of world, we ought to give diligent 

* Donaldson's History of Chris. Literature and Doct., vol. i, p. 201. 
t Lardner s Credibility, vol. ii, p. 14. 



THE CANON. 



177 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

the Lord is. (Epti. v: 16, 17.) 
The Prince of the power of the 
air, the spirit that now worketh 
in the children of disobedience. 
(Eph. ii : 2.) 

V. I charge thee before God 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
shall judge the quick and the 
dead. (2 Tim. iv : 1.) 



BARNABAS. 



heed to inquire into the right- 
eous judgments of the Lord. 
(Ch. ii.) 



V. If, therefore, the Son of 
God, ivho is the Lord of all, and 
shall judge the quick and the 

dead, hath suffered . (Ch. 

vii.*) 



THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENS ROMANUS. 

The next document that I will introduce, is a letter ad- 
dressed by the Church of Rome to the Church It8 date and 
of Corinth. The name of the writer is not at- author - 
tached to the epistle, but it was unanimously ascribed by the 
ancients to Clemens Romanus,f of whom honorable mention 
is supposed to be made in Philippians iv : 3. It was writ- 
ten about A. D. 96,1 an( ^ contains many references to the 
books of the New Testament. The following will suffice for 
our present purpose : 



Eighteen books 
quoted and in- 
dorsed by 
Clement. 



CLEMENT. 

I. Remember the words of 
the Lord Jesus. 
For he said: Woe 
to that man by 
ivhom offenses come. 
It were better for him that he 
had not been born, than that he 
should offend one of my elect. 

* Lardner's Credibility, vol. ii, pp. 11-22. 

t Donaldson's Hist, of Christian Literature and Doctrine, vol. i, p. 90. 

% Donaldson, vol. i, p. 108, 109, and Lardner, vol. ii, p. 28. 

12 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

I. But woe to that man by 
whom the Son of Man is be- 
trayed ! It had been good for 
that man if he had not been born. 
(Matt, xxvi: 24. See also 
Matt, xviii: 6, and Mark ix: 
42.) 



178 



REASON AND REVELATION. 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

It ivere better for him that a 
millstone were hanged about his 
neck, and he east into the sea, 
than that .he should offend one 
of these little ones. (Luke xvii : 
2.) 

II. How he said : It is more 
blessed to give than to receive. 
(Acts xx : 35.) 

III. Being filled with all un- 
righteousness, fornication, wick- 
edness, covetousness, malicious- 
ness; full of envy, murder, de- 
bate, deceit, malignity, whisper- 
ers, backbiters, haters of God, de- 
spiteful, proud, boasters, who, 
knowing the judgment of God, 
that they who do such things are 
worthy of death, not only do the 
same, but have pleasure in them 
that do them. (Rom. i: 29-32.) 

IV. Now this I say, that ev- 
ery one of you saith, I am of 
Paul, and I of Apollos, and I 
am of Cephas, and I of Christ. 
(ICor. i: 12.) 



V. But he that glories, let 
him glory in th e Lord. For not 
he that commendeth himself is 
approved, but whom the Lord 
commendeth. (2 Cor. 17-18.) 



CLEMENT. 

It were better for him that a 
millstone should be tied about 
his neck, and that he should he 
drowned in the sea, than that he 
should offend one of my little 
ones. (Ch. xlvi.) 

II. Ye were all of you hum- 
ble-minded, more willingly giv- 
ing than receiving. (Ch. ii.) 

III. Casting off from us all 
unrighteousness and iniquity, 
covetousness, debates, maligni- 
ties, deceits, whisperings, back- 
bitings, hatred of God, pride, 
boasting, and vain-glory, and 
ambition. For they that do these 
things are hateful to God, and 
not only they that do them, but 
they also who have pleasure in 
them. (Ch. xxv.) 

IV. Take into your hands 
the epistle of the blessed Paid the 
Apostle. What did he at first 
write to you in the beginning of 
the Gospel ? Verily he did by the 
Spirit admonish you concerning 
himself, and Cephas, and Apol- 
los; because that even then you 
did form parties. (Ch. xlvii.) 

V. Let our praise be in God, 
not of ourselves, for God hates 
those that commend themselves. 
(Ch. xxx.) 



THE CANON. 



179 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

VI. Of the Jews received I 
forty stripes, save one. Thrice 
was I beaten with rods; once was 
I stoned. (2 Cor. xi: 24.) 

VII. Who gave himself for 
oar sins, that he might deliver us 
from this present evil world, ac- 
cording to the will of God and 
our Father. (Gal. i: iv.) 

VIII. There is one body and 
one Spirit; even as ye are called 
with one hope of your calling. 
One Lord, one faith, one bap- 
tism. One God and Father of 
all. (Eph. iv: 4.) 

IX. Let this mind be in you 
which was also in Christ Jesus, 
who being in the form of God, 
thought it not robbery to be 
equal with God ; but made him- 
self of no reputation, and took 
upon him the form of a serv- 
ant, and was made in the like- 
ness of men: and being found 
in fashion as a man, he hum- 
bled himself, and became obe- 
dient unto death, even the death 
of the cross. (Philippians ii : 
5-8.) 

X. In every thing give thanks. 
(IThess. v: 18.) 



XI. I will, therefore, that 
men pray every-where, lifting 



CLEMENT. 

VI. Seven times was he (Paid) 
in bonds. He was whipped, ivas 
stoned. (Ch. v.) 

VII. For the love which he 
had for us, Christ our Lord gave 
his blood for us, by the will of 
God ; his flesh for our flesh ; his 
sold for our soul. (Ch. xlix.) 

VIII. Have we not one God 
and one Christ f And is there 
not one Spirit poured out upon 
us; and one calling in Christ? 
(Ch. xlvi.) 

IX. For Christ is theirs who 
are humble. The scepter of 
the majesty of God, our Lord 
Jesus Christ, came not in the 
show of pride and arrogance, 
though he could have done so, 
but in humility. Ye see, be- 
loved, what is the pattern which 
has been given us. If the Lord 
thus humbled himself, what 
should we do who are brought 
by him under the yoke of his 
grace ? (Ch. xvi.) 

X. Having, therefore, all 
these things from him, we ought 
in all things to give thanks to 
him. (Ch. xxxviii.) 

XL Let us, therefore, come 
to him in holiness of soul, lift- 



180 



REASON AND REVELATION. 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

up holy hands without wrath 
and doubting. (1 Tim. ii: 8.) 

XII. Who hath saved us, 
and called us with a holy call- 
ing. (2 Tim. i : 9.) 

XIII. To he ready to every 
good work. (Titus iii: 1.) 

XIV. IVIw being the bright- 
ness of his glory, and the express 

image of his person . Being 

made so much better than the 
angels, as he has by inheritance 
obtained a more excellent name 
than they. For unto, which of 
the angels said he at any time, 
Thou art my Son, this day have 
I begotten thee f And of the 
angels he saith, Who maketh his 
angels spirits, and his ministers 
a flame of fire. But to which of 
the angels said he at any time, 
Sit on my right hand, until I 
make thy enemies thy footstool f 
(Heb. i: 3,4, 5, 7, 13.) 

XV. As also Moses was fa ith- 
ful in all his house. And verily 
Moses was faithful in all his 
house. (Heb. iii : 2, 5.) 

XVI. And is a discerner of 
the thoughts and intents of the 
heart. (Heb. iv: 12.) 

XVII. That by two immuta- 



CLEMENT. 

ing up to him chaste and unde- 
filed hands. (Ch. xxix.) 

XII. And let us come up to 
the glorious and venerable ride 
of our holy calling. (Ch. vii.) 

XIII. Ye were ready to every 
good work. (Ch. ii.) 

XIV. Who being the bright- 
ness of his 'majesty, is by so much 
greater than the angels, as he 
has obtained a more excellent 
name than they. For so it is 
written, Who maketh his angels 
spirits, and his ministers a flame 
of fire. But unto his Son thus 
saith the Lord, Thou art my 
Son, this day have I begotten 
thee. Ask of me, and I will give 
thee the heathen for thine inher- 
itance, and the uttermost part of 
the earth for thy possession. And 
again he saith unto him, Sit on 
my right hand, until I make 
thine enemies thy footstool. (Ch. 
xxxvi.) 

XV. When also Moses, that 
blessed and faithful servant in 

all his house . Moses was 

called faithful in all his house. 
(Chs. xliii, xviii.) 

XVI. For he is a searcher of 
the intents and thoughts. (Ch. 
xxi.) 

XVII. For nothing is impos~ 



THE CANON. 



181 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

ble thing*, in which it impossi- 
ble for God to lie. (Heb. vi : 18.) 

XVIII. They wandered about 
in sheepskins and goat-shins. 
(Heb. xi : 37.) 

XIX. Was not our father 
Abraham justified by works, 
when he had offered Isaac his 
son upon the altar? ( Jas. ii : 21.) 

XX. And he was called the 
friend of God. (Jas. ii: 23.) 



XXI. Who is a wise man and 
endued with knowledge among 
you? Let him show out of a 
good conversation his works with 
meekness of wisdom. (Jas. iii: 
13.) 

XXII. For charity shall cover 
a multitude of sins. (1 Pet. iv: 8. 
Comp. Jas. v: 20.) 

XXIII. Yea, all of you be 
subject one to another, and be 
clothed with humility: for God 
resisteth the proud, and giveth 
grace to the humble. (1 Pet. v: 
5.) 

XXIV. A double-minded man 
is unstable in all his way*. (Jas. 

i: 8.) And saying, Wlien 

is the promise of his coming f 
For since the fathers fell asleep, 



CLEMENT. 

sible with God but to lie. (Ch. 
xxvii.) 

XVIII. Let us be imitators 
of those who went about in goat- 
skins and sheep-skins preaching 
the coming of Christ. (Ch. xvii.) 

XIX. For what was our fa- 
ther Abraham blessed? Was it 
not, because that through faith, 
he wrought righteousness and 
truth f (Ch. xxxi.) 

XX. Abraham has been 
greatly witnessed of; and was 
called the friend of God. (Ch. 
xvii.) 

XXI. Let the wise man shoiu 
forth his wisdom, not in words, 
b id in good works. (Ch. xxxviii.) 



XXII. Charity covers the mul- 
titude of sins. (Ch. xlix.) 

XXIII. And let every one be 
subject to his neighbor. (Ch. 
xxxviii.) For God, saith he, 
resisteth the proud, but giveth 
grace to the humble. (Ch. xxx.) 

XXIV. Let that be far from 
us which is written : Miserable 
are the double-minded, who are 
doubtful in their mind*, and say, 
These things have we heard even 



182 



REASON AND REVELATION. 



NEW TESTAMENT. CLEMENT. 

all things continue as they were from our fathers; and, behold, 
from the beginning of the crea- we are grown old, and none of 
tion. (2 Pet. iii : 4.) these things have happened to 

us. (Ch. xxiii.*) 



THE SHEPHERD OF HBRMAS. 

The author of this highly-allegorical production is sup- 
Author, date, posed by Origen, Ensebius, and some other an- 

and character • , •■, . i ,i tt j. l 

of tins docu- cient writers, to be the same Jbierrnas to whom 
ment - Paul refers in Romans xvi : 14 : " Salute Asyn- 

critus, Phlegon, Hennas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren 
who are with them." Its date is fixed by Lardner at about 
A. D. lOO.f It consists of three books, the first of which 
contains four visions, the second twelve commands, and the 
third ten similitudes. The nature of the composition is not 
such as to admit of any direct quotations, but it contains 
many allusions to the books of the New Testament. The 
following will suffice for illustration: 



Fourteen books 
referred to and 
indorsed by 
Hernias. 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

I. Verily I say unto you, ex- 
except ye shall be 
converted, and be- 
come as little chil- 
dren, ye shall not 
enter into the kingdom of God. 
Whosoever, therefore, shall 
humble himself as this little 
child, the same is the*greatest 
in the kingdom of heaven. 
(Matt, xviii: 3, 4.) 



HERMAS. 

I. Whosoever, therefore, says 
he, shall continue as little chil- 
dren, free from malice, shall be 
more honorable than all these 
of whom I have yet spoken. 
For all little children are hon- 
orable with the Lord, and es- 
teemed the first of all. (Simil. 
ix.) 



* Lard tier's Credibility, vol. ii, pp. 22-46. 



tlbid, p. 51. 



THE CANON. 



183 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

II. And have peace one with 
another. (Mark ix: 50.) 

III. I am the door; by me if 
any man enter in he shall be 
saved, and shall go in and out, 
and find p ast lire! ( John x : 9 . ) 
I am the way, and the truth, 
and the life; no man cometh 
unto the Father but by me. 
(John xiv: 6.) 

IV. If any man defile the 
temple of God, him shall God 
destroy. (1 Cor. iii: 17. See 
also 1 Cor. vi: 9.) 



V. And grieve not the Holy 
Spirit of God. (Eph. iv: 30.) 



VI. JVho is the first-bom of 
every creature. (Col. i: 15.) 

VII. For he found no place 
of repentance. (Heb. xii : 17.) 

VIII. Submit yourselves 
therefore to God. Resist the 
devil, and he will flee from you. 
(James iv: 7.) 

IX. Though now for a sea- 
son, if need be, ye are in heav- 
iness through manifold temp- 
tations. That the trial of your 



HEEMAS. 

II. Now, therefore, hearken 
unto me, and have peace one 
ivith another. (Vis. iii.) 

III. The gate is the only way 
of coming to God. For no man 
shall go to God but by his Soji. 
(Simil. ix.) 



IV. For if thou defile thy 
body, thou shalt also at the 
same time defile the Holy 
Spirit. And if thou defile thy 
body thou shalt not live. (Simil. 
v.) 

V. Grieve not the Holy Spirit 
that dwelleth in thee, lest he ash 
of God and depart from thee. 
(Com. iii.) 

VI. The Son of God is more 
ancient than any creature. (Vis. 

a.) 

VII. For these there is no 
place of repentance. (Simil. 
viii.) 

VIII. For if ye resist him 
(the Devil) he will flee from 
you ivith confusion. (Com. xii.) 

IX. The golden part are ye 
who have escaped from this 
world. For as gold is tried by 
the fire and made £>rofitable, so 



184 



REASON AND REVELATION. 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

faith, being much more pre- 
cious than of gold that perish- 
eth, though it be tried with 
fire, might be found unto praise, 
and honor, and glory, at the 
appearing of Christ. (1 Peter 
i:6.) 



X. Who have forsaken the 
right ivay. (2 Pet. ii : 15.) 



XI. Hereby know we tne 
Spirit of Truth, (1 John iv : 6,) 
because the Spirit is truth. (1 
John v : 6.) 

XII. I rejoice that I found of 
thy children walking in truth. 
(2 John, verse 4.) 



XIII. Keep yourselves in the 
love of God, looking for the mer- 
cy of oar Lord Jesus Christ unto 
eternal life. Others save with 
fear, pulling them out of the fire : 
hating even the garment spotted 
by the flesh. (Jude, verses 21 
and 23. See also 24.) 



HERMAS. 

are ye also tried who dwell 
among them (the men of this 
world.) They, therefore, who 
shall endure to the end, and 
be proved by them, shall be 
purged. And as gold is cleansed 
and loses its dross, so shall ye 
also cast away all sorrow and 
trouble, and be made pure for 
the building of the tower. 
(Vis. iv.) 

X. They are such as have 
believed indeed, but through 
their doublings have forsaken 
the true way. (Vis. iii.) 

XI. For they received the 
Spirit of Truth, and became 
habitations of the true Spirit. 
(Com. iii.) 

XII. For thou oughtest, as 
the servant of God, to walk in 
the truth. (Com. iii.) 

The whole of the third com- 
mandment of Hermas is very 
analogous to the Second and 
Third Epistles of John. (Lard- 
ner, vol. ii, 61.) 

XIII. Because the elect of 
God should be pure, and with- 
out spot, unto life eternal. (Vis. 
iv.) 



THE CANON 185 

The allusions to the Apocalypse are very many ; and hence 
Lardner is of the opinion that Hennas had not only read 
the book of Revelation, but that in his visions he also at- 
tempts to imitate it. The following brief extract is given 
as an illustration : 

"In Revelation ch. xii, the Church is represented under 
the figure of a woman, as toe have already seen the Church to 
be in Hennas. In the Revelation the woman is persecuted 
by a dragon. Hennas also sees a great and terrible beast, 
which he is informed is the figure of the trial which teas com- 
ing. John saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming 
down from God oid of heaven prepared as a bride adorned 
for her husband. (Ch. xxi : 2.) Hermas says, Behold, there met 
me a virgin, well adorned, as if she were just come out of the 
bride-chamber, clothed in white. And I knew by my former 
visions, that it icas the Church. John sees a city, the founda- 
tions of the walls of which were garnished with all manner of 
precious stones. (Ch. xxi : 19.) Hennas sees a tower built 
icith bright, square stones. In the Revelation, the city lies 
four-square. The tower in Hermas is likewise built upon a 
square. In Revelation vii : 9, John says, After this I beheld, 
and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, stood 
before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes 
and palms in their hands. And Hermas says, Then the an- 
gel of the Lord commanded crowns to be brought, made as of 
palms. And the angel crowned these men, and commanded 
them to go into the tower. The writer of the Revelation is 
soon after informed who these are. Ver. 14. He said to 
me: These are they who came out of great tribulation, and 
have ivashed their r*obes and made them white in the blood of 
the Lamb. In Hermas we have a like explanation. But 
ivho then, Lord, said L, are they who enter into the tower 
crowned f He says to me: All who, having striven with the 
Devil, have overcome him; these are crowned. And these are 



186 REASON AND REVELATION. 

they icho have suffered hard things that they might keep the 
law."* 

THE EPISTLES OF IGXATIUS. 

Ignatius was an overseer of the Church of Antioch during 
mi . , „ the latter part of the first and the beginning of 

Their date, ad- r £> s 

dress, and au- the second century. He suffered martyrdom at 
Rome, according to Du Pin, Lardner, and others, 
in A. D. 107.f "While on his way from Antioch to Rome, 
he wrote seven epistles, viz. : one to the Church of Ephesus; 
one to the Church of Magnesia ; one to the Church of Tral- 
lium ; one to the Church of Philadelphia ; one to the Church 
of Smyrna ; and one to Polycarp, who was then president of 
the eldership of the Church of Smyrna. The following are 
some of the many references that he makes to the books of 
the New Testament : • 

NEW TESTAMENT. IGNATIUS. 

I. For thus it becomes us to I. Baptized of John that all 
fulfill all righteous- righteousness might be fulfilled 

Seventeen ... . 

books , muted ness. (Matt, m : by him. (bmyrn.J 

and indorsed 15; v n He (Christ) said to them, 

by Ignatius. y _ 

II. Behold my Take, handle me, and see that I 
hands and my feet, that it is I am not an incorporated demon, 
myself: handle me and see, for a (Smyrn.) 
spirit has not flesh and bones as 
ye see me have. (Luke xxiv : 
39.) 

III. I am the door: by me if III. He (Christ) is the door 
any man enter in, he shall be of the Father, by which enter in 
saved. (John x : 9.) Abraham, and Isaac, and Ja- 
cob, and the Apostles, and the 
Church. (Philad. ix.) 

IV. Satan is called, The IV. The prince of this world 

* Lardner' s Cred., yoI. ii, pp. 50-65. flbid, P- 66. See also pp. 67-85. 



THE CANON. 



187 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

prince of the world, in John 
xii:31; xiv: 30; and xvi: 11. 



V. Who did eat and drink 
with him, after he arose from the 
dead. (Acts x : 41.) 

VI. Concerning his Son Jesus 
Christ our Lord, ivho was made 
of the seed of David, according 
to the flesh ; and declared to be 
the Son of God with power. 
(Rom. i : 3, 4). 

VII. Purge out, therefore, the 
old leaven, that ye may he a new 
lump, as ye are unleavened. For 
Christ our Passover is sacrificed 
for us. Therefore let us keep 
the feast, not with old leaven, 
neither with the leaven of malice 
and wickedness. (1 Cor. v : 7.) 

VIII. And that he died for 
all, that they who live should 
not henceforth live unto them- 
selves but unto thine who died 
for them, and rose again. (2 
Cor. v : 14.) 

IX. Christ is become of none 
effect unto } T ou ; whosoever of you 
are justified by law, ye are fallen 
from grace. (Gal. v : 4.) 

X. Husbands, love your wives, 
even as Christ also loved the 
Church. (Eph. v: 25.) 



IGNATIUS. 

would fain carry me away. 
(Rom.) 

Avoid the ambushes of the 
prince of this world. (Philad.) 

V. But after his resurrection, 
he did eat and drink with them. 
(Smyrn.) 

VI. Our Lord ivas truly of 
the race of David, according to 
the flesh ; the Son of God, accord- 
ing to the will and power of God. 
(Smyrn.) 

VII. Cast away, therefore, the 
evil leaven which is waxen old 
and sour: and be transformed 
into the new leaven, which is 
Jesus Christ. (Magnes.) 



VIII. Him I seek who died 
for us : him I desire who rose 
again for us. (Rom. vi.) 



IX. For if we still live ac- 
cording to Judaism, we confess 
we have not received grace. 
(Magnes.) 

X. In like manner, exhort 
my brethren, in the name of 
Jesus Christ, to love their wives, 
as the Lord the Church. (Poly- 
carp.) 



188 



REASON AND REVELATION. 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

XI. Wherefore take unto 
you the whole armor of God. 
Stand therefore having your 
loins girt about with truth, and 
having on the breast-plate of 
righteousness. Above all taking 
the shield of faith: and take the 
helmet of salvation, and the sword 
of the Spirit, which is the word 
of God. (Eph. vi: 13.) 

XII. For me to live is Christ ; 
and to die is gain. (Phil, i : 21.) 

XIII. Let nothing be done 
through strife. Let this mind 
be in you which was also in 
Christ Jesus. (Phil, ii: 3.) 

XIV. Pray without ceasing. 
(1 Thess. v: 17.) 

XV. No man that warreth, 
entangleth himself with the af- 
fairs of this life, that he may 
please him who hath chosen him 
to be a soldier. (2 Tim. ii: 4.) 

XVI. The aged women, that 
they be in behavior, as becom- 
eth godliness. (Titus ii: 3.) 

This is the only place in 
which xataaTTj/j-a (behavior) oc- 
curs in the New Testament. 

XVII. Yea, brother, let me 
have joy of thee in the Lord. 
(Philem., ver. 20.) 



IGNATIUS. 

XL Let none of you be 
found a deserter, but let your 
baptism remain as your arms; 
faith as a helmet; love as a 
spear; patience as whole armor. 
(Polycarp, sec. v.) 



XII. He (Christ) is the gain 
that is laid up for me. (Rom., 
sec. vi.) 

XIII. I beseech you, that ye 
do nothing through strife, but 
according to the instruction of 
Christ. (Phila., sec. vii.) 

XIV. Be at leisure to pray 
without ceasing. (Polyc. i.) 

XV. Please Him under whom 
ye war, and from whom ye receive 
your ivages. (Polyc. vi.) 



XVI. Whose very behavior 
is an excellent instruction. 
(Trail, iii.) 



XVII. And may L always 
have joy of you. (Ephes., sec. 
ii.) This phrase of St. Paul 
to Philemon, occurs in several 
epistles of Ignatius. 



THE CANON. 



189 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

XVIII. Yea, all of you be 
subject one to another. (1 Pet. 
v: 5.) 

XIX. And the life was man- 
ifested — and — we show unto 
you that eternal life, which was 
with the Father, and was mani- 
fested unto us. (1 John i: 2.) 

XX. Beloved, I wish above all 
tilings, that thou may est prosper, 
and be in health, even as thy soul 
prosper eth. (3 John, ver. 2.) 



IGNATIUS. 

XVIII. Be ye subject to the 
bishop, and to one another. 
(Magnes. xiii.) 

XIX. Jesus Christ who was 
with the Father before the world 
was, and in the end appeared. 
(Magnes. vi.) 

XX. That whatsoever ye do, 
ye may prosper in the flesh and 
spirit. (Magnes. xiii.) 



POLYCARFS EPISTLE TO THE PTIILIPPIAXS. 

Finally, I invite the attention of the reader to a few of 
the quotations and scriptural allusions contained Its datC) 
in Polycarp's letter to the Philippians. It w T as address .a*a 
written, according to Lardner, about A. D. 108.* 



author. 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

I. The spirit indeed is ivilling ; 
but the flesh is weak. (Matt. 
xxvi : 41. See also Mark xiv : 
38.) 

II. Judge not, and ye shall 
not be judged. Forgive and ye 
shall be forgiven. For with the 
measure that ye mete, it shall be 
measured to you again. (Luke 
vi: 37, 38. See also Matt, 
vii: 1.) 



Eighteen books 
quoted and in- 
dorsed by Poly 
carp. 



POLYCARP. 

I. As the Lord hath said: 
The spirit indeed 
is willing; bid the 
flesh is weak. — 
(Ch. i.) 

II. But remembering what 
the Lord said teaching: Judge 
not that ye be not judged: for- 
give, and ye shall be forgiven: 
be ye merciful, that ye may ob- 
tain mercy: with what measure 
ye mete, it shall be measured to 
you again. (Ch. ii.) 



*Lardner's Cred., vol. ii, p. 



190 REASON AND REVELATION. 

NEW TESTAMENT. POLYCARP. 

III. Whom God hath raised III. Wfwm God hath raised, 
up, having loosed the pains of having loosed the pains of If a- 
death. (Acts ii: 24.) des. (Ch. i.) 

IV. We shall all stand before IV. And must all stand be- 
the judgment-seat of Christ, So fore the judgment-seat of Christ; 
then every one of us shall give and every one give an account 
an account of himself to God. of himself . (Ch. vi.) 

(Rom. xiv: 10, 12.) 

V. Do ye not know that the V. Bo ye not know, that the 
saints shall judge the world f saints shall judge the world, as 
(1 Cor. vi: 2.) Paul teaches? (Ch. xi.) 

VI. By the armor of rigid- VI. Let us arm ourselves with 
eousness. (2 Cor. vi: 7.) the armor of righteousness. — 

(Ch. iv.) 

VII. Providing for honest VII. Always providing ivhat 
thing*, not only in the sight of is honest in the sight of God and 
the Lord, but cdso in the sight men. (Ch. vi.) 

of men. (2 Cor. viii: 21.) 

VIII. Be not deceived, God VIII. Knowing therefore, that 
is not mocked. (Gal. vi: 7.) God is not mocked. (Ch. v.) 

IX. Be ye angry and sin IX. For I trust that ye are 
not : let not the sun go down on well exercised in the Holy 
your wrath. (Eph. iv: 26.) Scriptures — as in these Scrip- 
tures it is said: Be ye angry, 
and sin not And, Let not the 
sun go down on your wrath. 
(Ch. xii.) 

X. That at the name of Je- X. To whom all things are 
sus, every knee should bow, of made subject that are in Heaven, 
things in Heaven, and things in and that are in Earth; whom 
Earth, and things under the every living creature serves. — ■ 
Earth. And that every tongue (Ch. ii.) 

shoidd confess. (Philip, ii : 
10.) 

XI. That we may present XI. That your fruit may be 



THE CANON. 



191 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

every man perfect in Christ. 
(Col. i: 28.) 

XII. Pray without ceasing. 
(1 Thess. v: 17.) 

XIII. Abstain from all ap- 
pearance of evil. (1 Thess. v: 
22.) 

XI V. Yet count him not as 
an enemy; but admonish him 
as a brother. (2 Thess. iii: 15.) 



XY. For ice brought nothing 
with us into this world, and it 
is certain that we can carry noth- 
ing out. For the love of money 
is the root of all evil. (1 Tim. 
ii: 1,2.) 

XVI. It is a faithful say- 
ing — If we suffer we shall also 
reign with him. (2 Tim. ii : 11.) 



XVII. And is a discerner of 
the thoughts and intents of the 
heart. Neither is there any crea- 
ture, that is not manifest in his 
sight; but all things are naked 
and open unto the eyes of Him, 
with whom we have to do. (Heb. 
iv:12.) 

XVIII. Whom having not 



POLYCAKP. 

manifest in all ; and ye may be 
perfect in him. (Ch. xii.) 

XII. Praying without ceas- 
ing for all. (Ch. iv.) 

XIII. Abstain from all eml. 
(Ch. ii.) 

XIV. Giving advice about 
one who had offended, Poly- 
carp says : Be ye also moderate 
in this; and do not count such 
as enemies; but call them bach 
as suffering and erring mem- 
bers. (Ch. xi.) 

XV. But the love of money 
is the beginning of all troubles. 
Knowing therefore that we 
brought nothing into the world, 
so neither can we carry any 
thing out. 

XVI. According as he has 
promised us, that he will raise 
us up from the dead ; and that 
if we walk worthy of him, we 
shall also reign with him. (Ch. 
v.) ^ 

XVII. Knowing that he sees 
all things, and that nothing is 
hid from him, not the reason- 
ings, nor the intents, nor any 

of the heart. (Ch. iv.) 



XVIII. In whom, though ye 



192 



REASON AND REVELATION. 



NEW TESTAMENT. 

seen ye love: in whom, though 
noiv you see him not, yet believ- 
ing, ye rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able, and full of glory. (1 Pet. 
i:8.) 

XIX. Not rendering evil for 
evil; or railing for railing. (1 
Pet. iii: 9.) 

XX. And every spirit that 
confesseth not that Jesus Christ 
is come in the flesh, is not of God. 
And this is that spirit of Anti- 
christ, whereof ye have heard. 
(1 John iv: 3.) 

XXI. Earnestly contend for 
the faith once delivered to the 
saints. (Jude, ver. 3.) 



POLYCARP. 

see him not, ye believe; and be- 
lieving, ye rejoice with joy un- 
speakable, and full of glory. 
(Ch. i.) 

XIX. Not rendering evil for 
evil; or railing for railing. 
(Ch. ii.) 

XX. For whosoever confess- 
eth not, that Jesus Christ is come 
in the flesh is Antichrist. (Ch. 
vii.) 



XXI. To edify yourselves 
in the faith delivered to you. 
(Ch. iii.) * 



erences to the 
books of the 
New Testa- 
meat. 



The number of these quotations and allusions might, if 
Number of ref- necessary, be very greatly increased. I have 
not given even half of those that are contained 
in the few short epistles referred to; and by 
extending our inquiries to the works of Papias, 
Justin Martyr, Irenseus, and other writers of the second 
century, the number of Scripture references might be almost 
indefinitely multiplied. 

But this, I think, is wholly unnecessary. One clear and 
The number indubitable reference or allusion to each of the 
our^reaentM- twenty-seven books of the New Testament, he- 
gument. f ore tne cessa tion of miracles in the churches, 

is enough for our present purpose. Take, for illustration, 
the following reference that Paul makes to the book of 
Deuteronomy : 

*Lardner's Cred., vol. ii, pp. 91-100. 



THE CANON. 193 

MOSES. PAUL. 

For this commandment But the righteousness which 
which I command thee this day, is of faith speaketh 

J . x Illustration. 

is not hidden from thee ; neither on this wise : Say 
is it far off. It is not in heaven, not in thy heart, Who shall as- 
that thou shouldst say, Wlio cend into heaven f (that is, to 
shall go up for us to heaven, and brnig Christ down from above) : 
bring it unto usf Neither is or Who shall descend into the 
it beyond the sea, that thou deep? (that is, to bring up 
shouldst say, Who shall go over Christ again from the dead). 
the sea for us, and bring it unto But what saith it? The word 
us, that we may hear it and do is nigh thee, even in thy mouth 
itf But the word is very nigh and in thy heart: that is, the 
unto thee, in thy mouth, and in word of faith which we preach, 
thy heart, that thou mayest do that if thou shalt confess with 
it. (Deut. xxx : 11-14.) thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and 

shalt believe in thy heart that 
God hath raised him from the 
dead, thou shalt be saved. 
(Eom. x: 6-9.) 

This can scarcely be regarded as a direct quotation from 
Moses; it is rather an allusion to a sentiment what this aiiu- 
which Moses very beautifully and very happily siou im P' ies - 
expressed concerning the Law; and w r hich Paul perceived 
could, w r ith but a slight change of the phraseology, be 
applied even more appropriately to the Gospel. But never- 
theless it clearly indicates and proves the following particu- 
lars: 

1. That the book of Deuteronomy was extant in the 
time of Paul. 

2. That Paul regarded it as an inspired work. 

3. That it was then also well known to the Roman 
brethren ; *and looked upon by them with the same feelings 
and sentiments of reverence and respect. 

13 



194 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Now it is evident, that the same or analogous things 
Things implied are also implied in each of the preceding allu- 
ing auotatioJs sions that Barnabas, Clement, Hernias, Ignatius, 
and allusions of an( j p iy Car p ma ke to the several parts of the 

the Apostolic J x J- 

Fathers. New Testament. In them, these authors seem 

to refer to every one of the twenty-seven books that com- 
pose our present Canon ; and if so, then it follows of ne- 
cessity, 

1. That these books were all extant before the epistles 
were written in which they are severally referred to. That 
is, that some of them were certainly in existence before 
A. D. 72 ; others before A. D. 96 ; and all of them before 
A. D. 108. 

2. That they were severally regarded by Barnabas, Clem- 
ent, Hernias, Ignatius, and Polycarp as works of Divine 
authority. They are quoted by these writers just as they 
are now quoted by those who receive and respect them as 
the word of God. 

3. That these books were then also well known to the 
several churches addressed, as the books and writings of 
inspired men. In no instance, are they introduced as nov- 
elties that required to be explained before their true char- 
acter could be known and appreciated ; but always as the 
acknowledged word of God, and divinely-appointed rule of 
faith and practice. 

The only remaining ground of doubt, then, is simply 
this : Whether, in the citations made from the 

The only ' 

ground of aforesaid authors, there is certain reference to 

tiou to' the cL- every one of the twenty -seven books that now 
nouicai au- compose the New Testament Canon. Some of 

thonty of these - 1 - 

tweuty-seveu these allusions are confessedly indefinite : and it 
is therefore possible, that in a few instances the 
reference may be to some other part of the Scriptures than 
that which I have supposed. 



THE CANON. 195 

But such a doubt, if it exists at all, can exist only in 
reference to Mark, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, 
2 John, 3 John, and Jude. The references Limit of tins 
to all the other books, are I think clear and doubt - 
indisputable; and their canonical authority is therefore fully 
established. For there is scarcely any room to Qualifications 
doubt that Barnabas,* Clement, Hernias, Igna- Apostoifcr" 
tins, and Poly carp were all possessed of the JJ^^iJJjJ 8 
miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit; and that ters. 
they were therefore divinely qualified to judge of all man- 
ner of writings. At any rate, they were certainly the grave, 
sober, and discreet companions of the Apostles and many 
other inspired men : and could not fail to understand their 
views on a matter that concerned their own daily instruc- 
tions ; and which was, at the same time, of vital importance 
to the edification and welfare of all the churches. And hence 

1 conclude that the canonical authority of Mat- conclusion 
thew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, concernin s 

9 9 f > ) y twenty of the 

2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippi- twenty-seven 
ans, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, 

Titus, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, and Reve- 
lation, rests on the authority of inspired men. 

And we are also, I think, fully warranted in placing the 
canonical authority of the remaining seven books on the same 
ground. For, be it observed, 

1. That there is a strong presumption in favor of this, im- 
plied in the previously given allusions. While it Reasons for 

is not absolutely certain, it is nevertheless highly plach) s the re - 

J ' ° J maining seven 

probable, that these are the identical books re- kooks on the 
ferred to by Hennas, Ignatius, and Polycarp. 

2. It is a conceded fact, depending on the unequivocal 
testimony of the Christian fathers and the internal evidence 
of these books, that they were all extant and in the hands 

* Barnabas seems to be ranked among the Prophets in Acts xiii : 1. 



196 REASON AND REVELATION. 

of the churches before the close of the first century;* and 
hence that for more than fifty years, I might, perhaps, truth- 
fully say one hundred and fifty, they were subject to the in- 
spection and scrutiny of inspired men.f 

3. That although doubts were for a while entertained con- 
cerning some of these, as well as concerning the Hebrews 
and the Revelation, yet that after a full and fair examina- 
tion of all the evidence in the case, the twenty-seven books that 
now compose the New Testament Canon were all finally received 
by the whole church, without a dissenting voice.% 

*It is now generally conceded by our best authorities that Matthew was 

written about A. D. 42; Mark. A. D. 64; Luke, A. D. 61; 

Date of the sev- ' ' ' ' ' . 

eral books of John, A. D. 97; Acts, A. D. 63 ; Romans, A. D. 57 ; 1 Corin- 

the New Testa- thians, A. D. 56 ; 2 Corinthians, A. D. 56 ; Galatians, A. D. 
55; Ephesians, A. D. 62; Philippians, A. D. 62; Colossians, 
A. D. 62; 1 Thessalonians, A. D. 51; 2 Thessalonians, A. D. 51; 1 Timothy, 
A. D. 56; 2 Timothy, A. D. 66; Titus, A. D. 56; Philemon, A. D. 62; He- 
brews, A. D. 63; James, A. D. 62; 1 Peter, A. D. 63; 2 Peter, A. D. 64; 
1 John, A. D. 96 ; 2 John, A. D. 97 ; 3 John, A. D. 97 ; Jude, A. D. 64 ; Reve- 
lation, A. D. 96. (See Davidson's Introduction.) 

t There is a plain reference made to the Gospel of Mark by Papias, 
about A. D. 116; to Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians by Justin Martyr, 
A. D. 140; to Mark, Colossians, and 2 John, by Irenaeus, A. D. 178 ; to Mark, 
Colossians, 2 John, and Jude, by Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 194; to 
Mark, Colossians, Philemon, and Jude, by Tertullian, A. D. 200 ; and to 
all these seven books, as well as to every other book in the New Testa- 
ment, by Origen, A. D. 230. (Lardner's Credibility, vol. ii.) 

J Much of the doubt expressed by ancient writers concerning some of 

_ , r these books had reference, not to their authenticity, but 

Doubt of genu- ' ^ 

iueness implies merely to their genuineness. These, however, are two very 
no doubt of au- different matters, and should never be confounded. To 
this day many of our ablest critics are in doubt whether 
the Epistle to the Hebrews was written by Paul, or Apollos, or Barnabas, 
or Luke, or Silas, or Clement of Rome; but no Christian man now doubts 
its authenticity and canonical authority. 

It is enough for us to know that the Epistle to the Hebrews and all the 
other books of the Old and New Testaments were indorsed by inspired 
men, and received into the Canon on their authority. The question of 
authorship is of minor importance: and for wise reasons, the Holy Spirit 



THE CANON. 197 

When this was done can not now be ascertained with ab- 
solute certainty. Some time would necessarily _ 

» J Causes of delay 

intervene before the churches could all be made "» forming the 
acquainted with the inspired books; and with the 
evidence on which their claims severally rested. That was 
not an age of printing-presses, steam-engines, railroads, and 
telegraphs. It was then a very tedious, laborious, and ex- 
pensive work to transcribe and circulate such a book as the 
New Testament. And hence it is probable, that for some time, 
most of the churches would be satisfied with those books 
that were looked upon as the most important ; and that such 
as were of a more personal and private character, as, for in- 
stance, Philemon, and the Second and Third Epistles of John, 
would be comparatively unknown, especially in those churches 
and provinces that were most remote from the place of their 
origin. 

But that most, if not all, of these inspired books, were col- 
lected together into one volume, and received as Evidence that 
the Word of God, at a very early period, by the ^nty-^ven 
most enlightened and influential churches of bookswere 

° soon collected 

Christendom, is evident, into one vol. 

1. From what we find in the most ancient versions. The 
Peshito or Old Svriac version, for instance, con- „, 

7 7 First, from the 

tains all the books of the New Testament, except anci 

the Second Epistle of Peter, the Second and Third 

of John, the Epistle of Jude, and the Revelation. And of 

this version the learned Home says : " There is every reason 

to believe that it was made, if not in the first century, at 

least in the beginning of the second century."* 

2. From sundry expressions found in the writ- secondly, from 
ings of the Apostolic and Christian Father. Igna- the Fathers. 

may leave forever concealed the names of the authors, just as it has de- 
signedly concealed the genealogy of Melchisedec. 
* Home's Introduction, vol. ii, p. 203, Littell edit. 



lent ver- 
sions. 



198 REASON AND REVELATION. 

tius ; in his epistle to the Church of Philadelphia, written as 
Remarks ofig- we have seen about A. D. 107, speaks of the 
natius. . Gospels and the Apostles, in terras that evi- 

dently imply a collection of the historical and epistolary 
of Poi car writings of the New Testament.* Poly carp, in 

his letter to the Philippians, written A. D. 108, 
calls the books of the New Testament, " The Scriptures; 
the Holy Scriptures? 9 ^ And as these were the names then 
commonly used to denote all the collected inspired writings 
of the Old Testament, it is most likely that Polycarp used 
the same words to denote a collection of the inspired books 
of the New Testament. In the same letter he calls them 

the Oracles of God.t About A. D. 170, Melito, 

OfMelito. . . . . 

bishop of Sarclis, in writing to his friend Onesi- 
mus, spoke of the Old Testament. || But the Old Testament 
is a relative term, and implies also the existence of a New 
Testament. Soon after this, about A. D. 178, Irenseus con- 
nects " The Evangelic and Apostolic Writings " 

Oflrenseus 

with " The Law and the Prophets ;"§ clearly in- 
dicating that by the latter he meant a collection of the in- 
spired books of the Old Testament; and by the former, a 
similar collection of the books of the New Testament. And 

*His words are: "Fleeing to the Gospel as the flesh of Jesus, and to 
the Apostles as the presbytery of the Church ;" that is, as he is generally 
understood, " In order to understand the will of God, he fled to the Gos- 
pels, which he believed no less than if Christ in the flesh had been 
speaking to him: and to the writings of the Apostles, whom he esteemed 
as the presbytery of the whole Christian Church." (Lardner's Cred., vol. 
ii, p. 81.) 

In his letter to the Church of Smyrna, Ignatius says : " Ye ought to 
hearken to the Prophets, but especially to the Gospel." And again: 
"Whom neither the Prophecies nor the Law of Moses have persuaded; 
nor yet the Gospel even to this day." (Lardner's Cred., vol. ii, p. 82.) Ob- 
serve that Ignatius here gives to the Gospel a pre-eminence over even 
the Law and the Prophets. 

t Lardner's Cred., vol. ii, p. 91. ||Ibid, p. 148. 

J Ibid, p. 99. § Ibid, p. 171. 



THE CANON. 199 

about sixteen years later, A. D. 194, Clement of Alexandria 
says : " There is a consent and harmony between of element of 
the Law and the Prophets, the Apostles and the Alexaildria - 
Gospel." It is evident from this citation, that the Gospel 
and the Apostles were the two names then commonly used to 
designate the collected writings of the Xew Testament. In 
the two following citations he uses the word Gospel to denote 
the whole of the Xew Testament, just as the word Law is 
often used for the entire Old Testament. " There is," he 
says, "one God who is preached by the Law, the Prophets, 
and the Gospel." And again he says : " The Scriptures which 
we believe have been confirmed by Almighty authority ; one 
God, and Almighty Lord, is taught by the Law, and the 
Prophets, and the blessed Gospel" Finally, he calls the 
books of the Xew Testament, " The Scriptures of the Lord, 
the true Evangelical Canon."* 

3. From the most ancient jiublished catalogues of the books 
belonqinn to the New Testament. These were not __. _ . 

u a Thirdly, from 

necessary in the primitive age of the Church; theancient 

nor until spurious and apocryphal books began 

to be circulated by false teachers and heretics. And hence 

they do not appear so early as some other kinds of witnesses. 

But when they do appear, their testimony is very full and 

satisfactory. 

(1.) The first regular catalogue is that of Origen, the dis- 
ciple of Clement of Alexandria, in Egypt, and origen's cata- 
whom Jerome calls " The greatest doctor of the logue - 
Church since the Apostles."f He was born in Egypt, A. D. 
185, was well educated in the school of Alexandria, and 
afterward traveled extensively through Greece, Italy, and 
Palestine; so that he was in all respects well qualified to 
make out a catalogue of the books that were then received 
as canonical by the first and most enlightened churches of 
*Lardner's Cred., vol. ii, p. 231. "[Ibid, P- 457. 



200 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Christendom. This he did, as is generally supposed, near 
the beginning of the third century, or a little more than one 
hundred years after the death of the Apostle John. The 
original document is iioav lost ; but a copy of it is given by 
Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History.* 

In this catalogue are contained all the books of the New 
_u .. .. Testament, except the Epistles of James and 

\Y hether it was 7 r r 

clean and com- Jude : and these were evidently omitted in some 

plete. . . 

way by mistake and not by design ; for, in his 
other Avorks, Origen frequently refers to these books and 
quotes them as canonical. Thus, in the Greek edition of his 
works, published by Huet, we find the following direct quo- 
tation from the Epistle of James. Origen says : "For though 
it be called faith, if it be without works, it is dead; as we read 
in the epistle ascribed to James ."f And in the Latin edition 
of his works by Rufinus, the same book is called, " the Epis- 
tle of James, Apostle and brother of the Lord." And again, 
it is called " Divine Scripture. v X Concerning the Epistle of 
Jude, he thus speaks : " And Jude wrote an epistle, of a few 
lines indeed, but full of powerful words of the heavenly grace, 
who at the beginning says : Jude the servant of Jesus Christ, 
and brother of James. r '|| His writings contain also several 
other direct quotations from the same epistle. 

Origen's catalogue is therefore complete. And it is worthy 
of special remark, that while it contains all the books of 
our present canon, it contains nothing more. Nothing spu- 
rious or apocryphal is found in it. And hence it is evident 
that in or before the time of Origen, there was a broad and 
distinct line drawn between these inspired books and all the 
writings of men, by at least many of the most enlightened 
and influential churches of Christendom. 

(2.) The next catalogue in order is that of Eusebius, 

* Book vi, ch. 25. t Ibid, p. 476. 

t Lardner's Cred., vol. ii, p. 478. || Ibid, p. 482. 



THE CANON. 201 

bishop of Cresarea, in Palestine. It was published about 
A. D. 315, and contains all the books of the catalogue of 
New Testament, and no others.* Eusebius. 

(3.) The third is that of Athanasius, bishop of Alexan- 
dria, in Egypt. Its date is given by Lardner 

, . xx «™ nr ^ i-i , i . « Of Athanasius. 

at about A. D. 326. It has all the books of 
the New Testament and no others, with this significant re- 
mark, " Let no man add to them or take away any thing 
from them."f 

(4.) About A. D. 348, Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, pub- 
lished a catalogue of the New Testament Scrip- 

. . ... Of Cyril. 

tures, which is in all respects identical with our 
present received Canon, except that it omits the Revela- 
tion.! 

(5.) That of the Council of Laodicea, about 0f the Council 
A. D. 363, is identical with that of Cyril.]) of Laodicea. 

(6.) After that what are called clean catalogues (that is, 
such as contain all the books of the New Testa- other cata . 
ment and no others) became numerous. Such, lo s ues - 
for instance, was that of Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, about 
A. D. 368 ;§ and that of Basil, bishop of Csesarea in Cappa- 
docia, A. D. 370 ;^[ and that of Gregory Nazianzen, bishop 
of Constantinople, A. D. 370 ;** and that of Jerome of Beth- 
lehem, A. D. 392 ;f+ and that of Rufinus, bishop of Aquileia, 

* Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. B. iii, ch. 25 ; comp. with ch. 3. 

t Lardner s Cred., vol. iv, pp. 283-289. 

X Ibid, p. 300. In the fourth century, some doubts were expressed 
about the book of Revelation, chiefly on account of its great obscurity 
and its supposed tendency to favor the doctrine of the Chiliasts. But 
it was received about the close of the first century by Hernias; in the 
second century by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and 
Tertullian ; in the third, by Hippolytus, Origen, Dionysius, Cyprian, 
and Victorinus ; and in the fourth, by Athanasius and many others. 
After that it was generally received as an inspired book. 

|! Ibid, p. 309. ** Ibid, p. 408, 409. 

I Ibid, p. 313. Ttt>id, p. 370. ft Ibid, vol. v, pp. 31, 32, 55. 



202 REASON AND REVELATION. 

A. D. 397;* and that of Augustine, bishop of Hippo in 
Africa, A. D. 395 ;j and that of the third Council of Car- 
thage, composed of forty- four bishops, A. D. 397; J and 
many others afterward published in Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
Now, courteous reader, how is all this to be accounted 
for ? Concede that these books were all written by inspired 
men ; that they w T ere afterward read, examined, and indorsed 
by other inspired men during a period of five, ten, fifty, one 
hundred, or one hundred and fifty years, as the case may be; 
and that, on their authority, they were all received by the 
fathers, and handed down from generation to generation ; — 
concede this, and all that follows is then plain, reasonable, 
and natural. On this hypothesis, we can then easily account 
for such facts as the following : 

. 1. That the most sacred names were given to these books 
summary of by the companions of the Apostles and their 
weonfyontiie immediate successors: and that from the very 
ground of beginning they were placed on an equality with 

authority. the inspired books of the Old Testament. 

2. That these, and these only, in connection with the Old 
Testament, were read as books of Divine authority in the 
primitive churches. || 

3. That these, and these only, were quoted by primitive 
Christians as books of Divine authority in all their religious 
controversies^ 

4. That the primitive Christians esteemed these books as 
they esteemed their own lives : and that many of them actu- 
ally suffered death rather than give them up to be destroyed 
by their persecutors.^ 

5. That at a very early period, they were collected into 

*Lardner's Credibility, vol. v, pp. 76, 77. flbid, PP- 85-87. 

t Ibid, pp. 79, 80. 

J] Ibid, pp. 259, 262, 271, 283, 308, 312, 337. 

I Ibid ; also ibid, vol. ii. pp. 489, 490. 

^[Murdock's Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., vol. i, pp. 208, 209. 



THE CANON. 203 

one volume, and translated into different languages and dia- 
lects. 

6. That though doubts were, for a time, very naturally 
entertained in reference to some of them; yet that, after a 
full and fair examination of the evidence, they were all 
finally received as the word of God by the whole Christian 
world. 

7. That since the Canon was finally settled by the author- 
ity of the Apostles and other inspired men, no one has dared 
to add any thing to it, or to subtract any thing from it. 

8. That however Christians may differ on other matters, 
they nevertheless all receive the New Testament as the word 
of God. 

These and many other similar facts are all plain and per- 
fectly natural, if we receive the testimony of Clement and 
other Christian fathers, that the claims of these books are 
sanctioned and sustained " by Almighty authority" 

But how can they be explained on any other hypothesis? 
Concede, for a moment, that this chain of Al- Evidenco that 
mighty authority which connects our present tbey can "°* be 

° J J A accounted lor 

Canon with the Apostles, were broken ; and let on any other 

. , , it- hypothesis. 

us suppose that the most learned and pious men 
of all Christendom were assembled in council for the pur- 
pose of forming a new Canon out of all the religious lit- 
erature of the world — what kind of a book, kind reader, 
do you suppose they would give us as a rule of faith and 
practice?! What have they already given us in the mul- 
tiplied, jarring, and inconsistent creeds of modern Christen- 
dom ? ! Evidently, this is a question that far transcends the 
limits of our poor, weak, and erring reason. There is need 
here of Almighty authority, as the fathers said, to secure and 
maintain that unity of faith and practice for which Christ 
and his Apostles so fervently prayed. But the Holy Spirit 
assures us that in these Scriptures we have all things per- 



204 REASON AND REVELATION. 

taining to life and godliness.* And hence we infer, a priori 
and & posteriori, that the Canon of the New Tes- 

Conclusion. . 

tament rests on the infallible authority of the Apos- 
tles and other inspired men. 

III. The third argument in support of the New Testament 
The third Canon is drawn from the internal evidence of the 

deuce 6 in s^p" books themselves. This, by itself, without any 
on'ofule xlw re f ereilce to the preceding argument, would be 
Testament. very unreliable and unsatisfactory; owing, not 
to the weakness of the evidence (for it is very strong), but 
strength of simply to our inability to judge of it correctly. 
this evidence. g U £ ^ n connec tion with the former, and as a 
means of corroborating and sustaining it, the latter is of 
very great weight; for such is the connection between the 
several books of the New Testament that they must all stand 
or fall together. It is folly to receive some of them as in- 
spired books, and to reject others as uninspired. The same 
God and Father; the same Lord and Redeemer; the same 
Holy Spirit; the same scheme of religion and morality; the 
same evidences of superhuman wisdom, power, justice, truth, 
grace, mercy, and benevolence, are plainly and unequivo- 
cally revealed in them all. And hence if we can prove his- 
course of the torically, that some of these books were written 
argument. or i 11( J 01 ^ se( i by the Apostles, it may then be 

easily demonstrated by a proper analysis of the books them- 
selves that they were all so written or indorsed; and that 
they therefore all rest on the same infallible authority of 
Divine inspiration. 

But I design to do nothing more here than simply to in- 
dicate the course and process of the argument. The reader 
can now analyze these books for himself, collect together the 
evidence, and construct an argument as long or as short as 
he pleases. 

*2 Peter i: 3. 



THE CANON. 205 



CHAPTER III. 

THE APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS 

The proper canonical test of any book, is the evidence of 
its inspiration. If we have sufficient evidence, _ . , 

■l ' Proper test or 

either that it was written, or that it was fully criterion of ca- 

, ill nouical books. 

indorsed, by an inspired man, we should not 

hesitate to receive it as a part of the Canon. But without 

this evidence, it should of course be rejected. 

On this ground, Ave have received the thirty-nine books 
of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven Books received 
books of the New. That these were all writ- cording C to this 
ten and frequently indorsed by inspired men, rule - 
we have, as given in the two preceding chapters, the most 
reliable evidence. But according to this rule, we are com- 
pelled to reject, 

I. All the Apocryphal Books, sometimes connected with 
the Old Testament. Of these the Council of Apocryphal 
Trent, in A. D. 1546, received as canonical, To- bythe council 
bit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus of Trent - 
or the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, Baruch, and the 
first and second books of Maccabees. "And besides these, 
they include under the name Esther and Daniel, certain ad- 
ditional chapters which are not found in the Hebrew copies. 
The book of Esther is made to consist of sixteen chapters : 
and prefixed to the book of Daniel is the history of Susan- 
nah ; the Song of the Three Children is inserted in the third 



206 REASON AND REVELATION. 

chapter j and the History of Bel and the Dragon is added 
at the end of this book."* 

Reasons for re- But these are justly rejected by all Protest- 
jectingthem. ^ f or tlie following reasons : 

1. Because they are not found in the Hebrew Bible ; or the 
Canon composed by Ezra and other inspired members of the 
Great Synagogue. 

2. Because they were never received as canonical by the 
Jews. 

3. Because they were never quoted, nor in any way in- 
dorsed by Christ and his Apostles. 

4. Because they were rejected by the most eminent of the 
Christian Fathers ; such as Origen, Athanasius, and Jerome. 
Augustine was the first that was in favor of canonizing 
them. 

5. Because they contain many false and contradictory 
statements. 

The Talmud. IL We "3** tlie TalmU<3 C^ to teach) Or 

Supplementary Law of the Jews. 
_. w . . Besides the Written Law, or the thirty-nine 

The Mishna. , 

books of the Old Testament, the Jews say that 
God gave to their fathers, through Moses, an Unwritten 
Oral Law. This is called the Mishna (nitf to repeat,) or 
repetition. It is the first part of the Talmud : and was first 
reduced to writing by Judah Hakkaclosh, about A. D. 150.f 
The second part of the Talmud is called the Gemara (*>P| 

to finish,) or completion. In the Jerusalem Tal- 

The Gemara. ' L 

mud, the Gemara consists of but one volume, 
and was composed about A. D. 370. In the Babylonish 
Talmud, the Gemara consists of twelve volumes, and was 

* Alexander on the Canon, p. 39, and Appendix, Note A. See also 
Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. ii, p. 155. 

tLardner's Cred., vol. vii, pp. 138-140. See also Townley's Bib. Lit., 
vol. i, p. 151. 



THE CANON. 207 

completed about A. D. 450.* The Jews say that the Mishna 
is the text and the Gemara the comment. 

The Jews have never dared to canonize the Talmud, or 
to place it among the thirty-nine books of the T . , t . 

i- o J Jewish estima- 

Old Testament. But, nevertheless, the Rabbis tion of the Tai- 
frequently prefer it to the Scriptures. " They 
compare the Scriptures to water ; the Mishna to wine ; and 
the Gemara to aromatic spices. The Oral Law, say they, is 
the foundation of the Written Law ; and they exhort their 
disciples to attend rather to the words of the Scribes, than 
to the words of the Law. The words of the Scribes, say 
they, are lovely, above the words of the Law : for the words 
of the Law are weighty and light j but the words of the 
Scribes are all weighty ."f 

This, if true, is indeed a high commendation of the Tal- 
mud. But, nevertheless, we are constrained to reject it for 
the following reasons : 

1. Because neither the existence of such a Reasons for re- 
law, nor its authority, is in any case recognized -^mud. 

in the whole Bible. 

2. Because all the traditions that compose it, are rejected 
by Christ, as the precepts and commandments of men. J 

3. Because it has none of the internal evidences of inspi- 
ration. 

III. " Besides the Mishna, the Jews pretend to have re- 
ceived from the Divine Author of the Law, an- „ ,,. . , 

7 Rabbinical 

other and more mystical interpretation of it. views of the 
This mystical interpretation, they call the Cab- 
bala or Reception, (^.ap to receive as a law :) by which they 
design to intimate that this mystical comment was received 
from God by Moses, who transmitted it orally to posterity. 

* Davidson's Bib. Crit,, pp. 115, 116. 
t Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. i, p. 152. 
t Mark vii : 1-13. 



208 REASON AND REVELATION. 

The Ifishna, say they, explains the manner in which the 
rites and ceremonies of the Law are to be performed; but 
the Cabbala teaches the mysteries couched under these rites 
and ceremonies, and hidden in the words and letters of the 
Scriptures. They give us, as an instance, the precepts re- 
lating to the phylacteries. The Mishna teaches the mate- 
rials of which they are to be prepared ; the form in which 
they are to be made; and the manner in which they are to 
be worn : but the Cabbala shows the mystical reasons for 
these directions, and informs them why the slips of parch- 
ment are to be inclosed in a black calf-skin, in preference 
to any other color ; why the phylacteries for the head are to 
be separated into four divisions ; and why the letters writ- 
ten upon them are to be of such a particular form. They 
divide this mystical science into thirteen different species, 
and by various transpositions, abbreviations, permutations, 
combinations, and separations of words, and from the figures 
and numerical powers of the letters, they imagine the law 
sufficient to instruct Cabalistic adepts in every art and sci- 
ence.* 

I need scarcely say, that these Rabbinical views of the 
Cabbala are wholly imaginary ; and that its 

Why rejected. ^ . . 

claims to- be of Divine origin are not supported 
by any show of reason whatever. 

IY. The Targums (3U")0 R. ^ to cast stones) are trans- 
jewishTar- lations of portions of the Hebrew Bible into 
gums - Chaldee. Eleven of these are now extant : f 

the most important of which are the Targums of Onkelos 
and Jonathan. The former is a translation of the Penta- 
teuch ; and the latter is a paraphrase of Joshua, Judges, 
Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve 
Minor Prophets. Their date is uncertain. Some refer them 

* Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. i, p. 153. 
f Kitto's Cyclop. Bib. Lit. 



THE CANON. 209 

to the first or second century of the Christian era : but they 
are generally supposed to have been written a short time 
before the birth of Christ. * 

They are both held in very high esteem by the Jews ; the 
latter of which, they say, was written down from the mouth 
of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. f But of this, there is 
not the slightest evidence. And that they are 

. f, . nf, ^ ot inspired. 

the productions of uninspired men, is sufficient- 
ly obvious from their numerous errors compared with the 
original Hebrew. 

For similar reasons we reject as uncanonical, the Septua- 
ffint translation of the Old Testament; and the m „ 

to The Septuagmt. 

Vulgate translation of the whole Bible : the 
former of which was by many of the Jews and 
Christian fathers, thought to be inspired ; % and the latter 
was canonized by the Council of Trent, A. D. 1546.|| 

V. The Masorah is a work containing critical notes and 
observations on the Hebrew Scriptures. Some _ . . 

1 Origin, nature, 

of the Jews attempt to trace its origin to Moses ; anfi sc °P e of 
and others, to Ezra and the Great Synagogue. 
But these views have been fully exploded j and it is now 
commonly referred to a succession of learned Rabbis, who 
lived between the beginning of the sixth and the close of the 
eleventh century. § 

These notes are grammatical, exegetical, and philological. 
They are called by the Jews, "The fence or hedge of the 
law ;" and were at first transmitted from generation to gen- 
eration, orally. Hence the name Masorah, (npio?, tradi- 
tion). Afterward the}' were written on parchment: and 
from the immense mass of observations so collected, extracts 
of what was supposed to be most useful, were made and 

* Davidson's, Bib. Crit., p. 224-239. f Ibid, p. 232. 

% Ibid, pp. 108, 194. || Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. i., p. 135. 

§ Davidson's Bib. Crit., p. 120. 

14 



210 REASON AND REVELATION. 

transferred to the margin of the Old Testament manu- 
scripts. 

The professed objects of these Masorites, was to deliver to 
care and re- posterity the Old Testament Scriptures in their 
MaforftSfor original purity. And for this purpose, " they 
the purity of not only numbered every verse, word, and let- 

the Text. n , . 

ter oi the text ; but even went so far as to as- 
certain how often each letter of the alphabet occurred in the 
whole Bible" * At the same time, they adopted many other 
rules and regulations for preserving the purity of the He- 
brew Text; most of which are still observed by the Jews in 
copying the original Scriptures for the use of their syna- 
gogues. "It is still a constant rule with them," says But- 
ler, "that whatever is considered as corrupt, shall never be 
used ; but shall be burned or otherwise destroyed. A book 
of the law, wanting but one letter, or with one letter too 
much, or with an error in a single letter; written with any 
thing but ink, or written on parchment made of the hide 
of an unclean animal, or on parchment not purposely pre- 
pared for that use, or prepared by any one but an Israelite, 
or on skins of parchment tied together by unclean strings, 
shall be holden to be corrupt : that no word shall be writ- 
ten without a line first drawn on the parchment; no word 
written by heart; or without having been first pronounced 
orally by the writer; that before he writes the name of 
God, he shall wash his pen ; that no letter shall be joined to 
another; and that if the blank parchment can not be seen 
all around each letter the roll shall be corrupt. There are 
settled rules for the length and breadth of each sheet of 
parchment; and for the space to be left each letter, each 
word, and each section." f 

In all this, we have abundant evidence of the great care 

*Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. i, p. 54. 
t Ibid, p. 56, 57. 



THE CANON. 211 

of the Masorites for the Sacred Text ; but none whatever of 
their inspiration. And hence we must regard 

1 f ° No evidence of 

all the Masoretic notes, points, etc., as we re- their inspira- 
gard the suggestions and criticisms of Griesbach, 
Scholz, and Teschendorf. 

VI. The Traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, are 
also to be excluded from the Sacred Canon. ^ 

Tlie traditions 

" The religion which Rome would have men of Rome not 

1 . »• • i 1 • i i canonical. 

regard as the only true religion, and which she 
enjoins on all Christians universally/' says the learned Doc- 
tor Mosheim, "is derived, as all their writers tell us, from 
two sources, the written word of God, and the unwritten ; or 
the Holy Scriptures and tradition"* But as these tradi- 
tions are often inconsistent with each other, as well as con- 
tradictory of the Holy Scriptures, it is absurd to canonize 
them as Rome has done. 

VII. To the same category belongs that collection of 
Apocryphal writings first published by Fabri- Ap ocry P iiai 
cins, about the beginning of the eighteenth Gos p ,,Is - 
century, and commonly known as the Apocryphal Gospels. 
Fabricius gives the titles of about fifty such spurious works; 
but most of these are now regarded as but different editions 
and recensions of the same original narratives. And hence 
Thilo, in his edition of 1832, reduces the original number 
of these Apocryphal books to twelve; and Tischendorf, in 
his Leipsic edition of 1854, gives us the titles of twenty- 
two. 

Of these the following are the most important. 

1. The Protevangelium of James the brother of the Lord; 
or, a " Declaration and History how the most holy mother 
of God was born for our salvation." 

2. The Greek Gospel of Thomas. 

3. The Greek Gospel of Nicodemus. 

* Mosheims Eccl. Hist., vol. iii, p. 99. 



212 REASON AND REVELATION. 

4. Tlie Latin Gospel of the Nativity of Mary. 

5. The Latin History of the Nativity of Mary, and of the 
Infancy of the Savior. 

6. Tlie Arabic History of Joseph the Carpenter. 

7. The Arabic Gospel of the Childhood of the Redeemer. 
It is enough to say of these Apocryphal books, that there 

is no evidence whatever, that they were ever given by in- 
spiration; and that they differ as widely from the inspired 
Narratives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as does the 
basest counterfeit from the original genuine coin. 

VIII. There are also extant, Apocryphal Acts, Apoc- 
otherApoc- ryphal Epistles, and Apocryphal Revelations, 
ryphai Books. g uc h ? f or instance, are the Acts of Peter and 
Paul ; the Acts of Paul and Thecla ; the Acts of Barnabas 
and Mark ; the Epistles of the Apostolic Fathers : and the 
Revelations of Moses, Ezra, and Paul. But of these, only 
the Epistles are genuine; and none of them have any just 
claims to be regarded as canonical. 

It is unnecessary to extend our inquiries any further in 
this direction. We have laid in the scale of even justice the 
Apocrypha, the Talmud, the Cabbala, the Targums, and 
other translations, the Masorah, the Roman Catholic Tra- 
ditions, and the Apocryphal Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and 
Revelations, and they are all found wanting. Bat no other 
books or documents now extant, save the Holy Bible, have 
any higher claims to inspiration, than these. And hence we 
conclude, that the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament, 
and the twenty-seven of the New, constitute the entire Canon 
of the Holy Scriptures; and that they are in fact the only 
safe, proper, and infallible rule of faith and practice. 

" Men's books with heaps of chaff are stored, 
God's Book doth golden grains afford; 
Then leave the chaff and spend thy pains 
In gathering up the golden grains." 



PAET THIRD 



INTEGRITY OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



CHAPTER I. 

SCOPE OF BIBLICAL CRITICISMS. 

The third office of Reason in matters pertaining to Di- 
vine Revelation, is to decide on the Integrity The tbird prov . 
of the Holy Scriptures* It is not enough to ince ° f »«»«>"• 
prove that the Bible, as a whole, is of Divine origin ; and 
that the several books of which it is composed, were all 
written and indorsed by inspired men. We must go still 
further, and prove also that all the words and phrases of 
these books are the same that were first recorded by the pen 
of Inspiration. 

For it is a well known fact, illustrated by the entire his- 
tory of the Greek and Roman classics, that books illustration 
transcribed and handed down to posterity by andRoman" 66 
uninspired men, are constantly liable to suffer classics - 
changes. It is estimated that not less than thirty thousand 
such changes have been made in the six comedies of Ter- 
ence since their first publication about 150 B. C. And yet, 

* By the Integrity of the Holy Scriptures, I mean that their several 
books have been preserved pure and entire; by their Authenticity, that 
they relate the facts as they really occurred; and by their Genuineness, 
that they were written by the authors whose names they bear. 

(213) 



214 REASON AND REVELATION. 

says the learned and eloquent Gaussen, "the}' have been 
copied a thousand times less often than the New Testa- 
ment/'* Nothing short of a miracle, therefore, could have 
preserved the books of the Old and the New Testament from 
the errors and changes to which all documents are liable 
under similar circumstances. 

True, indeed, there has ever been a wonderful providence 
Providential over a ^ tnese sacred books. God has put it 
care of the Sa- into the hearts of his appointed librarians, to 

cred Text. 

have such a care for them as has never been 
First, of the taken of any other books since time began. " The 

Old Testament. . ., *f 

numbering ot the verses, words, and letters of 
the Old Testament/' says the learned Samuel Davidson, 
" seems to have been an early practice. Separate books and 
sections were thus counted. The sum total was marked at 
the end; and the middle letter and verse faithfully given. 
However laborious and trifling such a task was, it had a 
good effect on the purity of the text.f " The New Testament 
seconds f was n0 doubt preserved with equal care. If 
the New Testa- the primitive Christians would suffer death, as 
many of them did, rather than deliver up the 
Scriptures to their persecutors, it is not to be presumed that 
they would spare any means that might be necessary to pre- 
serve, as far as possible, the integrity and purity of the 
Sacred Text. 

But notwithstanding all their care and vigilance, errors 
Two sources of ^ ere n °t unfrequently committed in transcrib- 
error. - n g t nese books, sometimes by design and more 

frequently by accident. And it now, therefore, belongs to 
Eeason to restore the original text. This she does chiefly 
through the five following sources of Biblical criticism : 
Five sources of I. The most ancient versions of the Holy 

Biblical criti- e< • a. 

cism. Scriptures. 

* Gaussen on Inspiration, p. 196. f Davidson's Bib. Crit., p. 116. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 215 

II. The Manuscripts of the Sacred Text. 

III. Parallels or repeated passages. 

IV. Quotations made from the Sacred Books. 

V. Critical Conjecture, or Evidence arising from the 
Context. 

For a full discussion of this subject, I must refer the 
reader to "Davidson's Biblical Criticism" and works of refer- 
" Home's Introduction," and " Tragelles on the ence - 
Printed Text." A few general remarks on each of these 
topics is all that we have time and space for at present. 

ANCIENT VERSIONS. 

I. Greek Versions. The oldest known version of 
any portion of the Bible into any language, „ , 

•/a •> ° <=> ' Greek versions. 

is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, 
commonly called the Septuagint, from the Latin The septua- 
word Scptuaginta, seventy; either because as 
some suppose it was approved by the Jewish Sanhedrim, 
consisting of seventy members besides the High Priest and 
his deputy ; or because, as the Jews say, it was made by 
seventy-two translators, under the patronage of Ptolemy 
Philadelphus, king of Egypt, about 280 B. C. It contains 
all the canonical books of the Old Testament, with some 
apocryphal additions. The best manual edition of the Sep- 
tuagint is that recently published by the Bagsters of Lon- 
don.* 

The Old Testament was also translated into Greek by 
Aquila of Pontus, about A. D. 150; by Theo- other Greek 
dosian of Ephesus, A. D. 160; and by Symma- verBi0DS - 
chus of Samaria, A. D. 200. These three translations and 
the Septuagint were printed in parallel columns by Origen 

*See Davidson's Bib. Crit. pp. 162-214; Home's Introduction, vol. ii, 
pp. 163-182 ; Prideaux's Connection, vol. ii, pp. 21-80; and Townley's 
Bib. Lit., vol. i, pp. 58-61. 



216 REASON AND REVELATION. 

about A. D. 230, and together constituted his Tetrapla. The 
order was, 1. The Septuagint; 2. Aquila; 3. Symmachus; 
and, 4. Theodosian. To these four he afterward added the 
original in both Hebrew and Greek letters. These were all 
likewise printed in parallel columns ; and together formed his 
Hexapla. The order of the Hexapla was as follows : 1. The 
Hebrew in Hebrew, or rather in Chaldee letters; 2. The 
Hebrew in Greek letters ; 3. Aquila ; 4. Symmachus ; 5. The 
Septuagint; and 6. Theodosian. Only fragments of the trans- 
lations of Aquila, Theodosian, and Symmachus now remain.* 

II. The Targums or Chaldee Versions. Of these, 
chaidee Ver- eleven are now extant : viz., 1. The Targum 
sions. f Onkelos on the Law ; 2. That of Jonathan 
Ben Uzziel on the Prophets; 3. That of Pseudo-Jonathan 
on the Law; 4. The Jerusalem Targum on the Law; 5. 
The Targum of Rabbi Joseph the Blind, on the Hagiogra- 
phy ; 6. An anonymous Targum on the five Megilloth 
(books or volumes) or books of Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, 
Song of Solomon, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah; 7. A 
Targum on the two books of Chronicles ; 8. The Jerusalem 
Targum on the Prophets ; and the ninth, tenth, and eleventh, 
on the book of Esther. The first two are by far the most 
valuable for the purposes of Biblical criticism; and are 
generally supposed to have been written before the birth of 
Christ. The others all belong to a much later period, "f 

III. The Samaritan Version of the Pentateuch. 
Samaritan Its author and date are both unknown. The 
Pentateuch. Samaritans say, it was made by Nathaniel, a 
Samaritan priest, who lived about twenty years before Christ. 
Davidson refers it to a later period. J 

* Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 215-224; Home's Introd., vol. ii, pp. 183- 
186; Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. i, pp. 64-66. 

t Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 224-239 ; also Home's Introd., pp. 157-162, 
t Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 240-242. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 217 

TV. The Syriac Versions. One of the most valuable 
of all the ancient versions is the Peshito (sim- _ . _ 

v Syriac Ver- 

ple, literal) or old Syriac. It contains all the sions:-The 

Peshito. 

canonical books of the Old Testament; and all 
also of the New, except the Second Epistle of Peter, the Sec- 
ond and Third of John, the Epistle of Jude and the Revela- 
tion. Its origin is unknown. Three opinions are found 
among the Syrians with regard to it: first, that the Old 
Testament was translated in the time of Solomon ; second, 
that it was translated by Asa the priest, who was sent back 
from Assyria to Samaria, about 700 B. C. ; third, that both 
the Old and the New Testament were translated by, or under 
the supervision of the Apostle Thaddeus, and under the pat- 
ronage of Abgarus, king of Osrhoene. It is first mentioned 
by Ephraem, the Syrian, who died A. D. 376. But it was 
then an ancient version ; for many of its words had then be- 
come antiquated, and needed to be explained, just like the 
obsolete words of our common English version. Besides, 
Ephraem calls it "our" version: which shows that it was 
then generally recognized as the received version of the Syr- 
ians. And hence Davidson refers it to about the middle 
of the second century. But Home thinks that this version 
was certainly made at the close of the first, or at the begin- 
ning of the second century.* 

Other Syriac versions were made afterward ; the most im- 
portant of these is the Philoxenian New Testa- The Phi i oxe . 
ment. nian - 

V. Arabic Versions. We have no account of any 
part of the Scriptures being translated into the Arabic Ve r- 
Arabic language, before the commencement of sions - 
the Mahometan era, A. D. 622. After that, several ver- 
sions were made ; the most valuable and celebrated of which 

* Davidson's, Bib. Crit., pp. 243-254, and 596-630; Home's Tntrod., vol. 
ii, pp. 187-190; also 203; Townley's Bib. Lit., vol, i, pp. 81-83. 



218 REASON AND REVELATION. 

is the translation of the Old Testament by Rabbi Saadias 
Gaon or Hagaon, the Illustrious, a learned Jew of Babylon. 
Its date is given at about A. D. 930. The most valuable 
edition of the New Testament in Arabic is that of Erpen 
or Erpenius, printed in 1616.* 

VI. Latin Versions. When and by whom the Old 
™ T+ . and New Testaments were first translated into 

lhe Itala or 

Old italic ver- Latin, is not known. Aversion called the 
Itala, or Old Italic, was quoted by Tertullian 
near the close of the second century ; and Home thinks that 
the translation was made about the beginning of the same 
century; Davidson fixes its date at about A. D. 150. All 
the remaining fragments of this version that could be dis- 
covered, were collected together and published at Rome, in 
one folio, under the sanction of Pope Sixtus, A. D. 1588. 
A fuller edition of it was afterward printed at Rheims, in 
three folio volumes, A. D. 1743, and it was afterward repub- 
lished at Paris, A. D. 1749.f 

In A. D. 382, Jerome, at the request of Pope Damasus, 
Jerome's Kevis- commenced a revision of this old Latin version. 
ion of it. ^ nc | j t j s generally supposed that he completed 

the entire work. But most of his Old Testament manu- 
scripts were destroyed; so that only the book of Psalms, Job, 
and his revised New Testament have come down to us. % 

But it seems that Jerome was not satisfied with a mere 
revision of the Old Testament. For before he 

The Vulgate. . . . 

had finished it, he commenced a new translation 
of it from the Hebrew into Latin ; and this, together with 
the revised New Testament, constituted what was then called 

* Davidson's, Bib. Crit., pp. 255-260. Townley, vol, i, pp. 195, 278, 345. 
Vol, ii, pp. 227, 448, 463, 466, 476, 534, 565. 

t Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 261-263; and 687-694. Home's Introduc- 
tion, vol. ii, pp. 196, 197. 

X Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 264, 265; and 695-698; Home's Introd., 
vol. ii, pp. 197, 198. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 219 

his New Version. For some time it was very unpopular : 
even Augustine was opposed to it. But it rose gradually in 
public favor ; and about the close of the seventh century, it 
was generally adopted by the Latin churches. Henceforth 
it was known as the Vulgate or Common Version. In A. D. 
802, it was revised by Alcuin, under the patronage of Charle- 
magne. And after passing through sundry other changes 
and critical revisions, it was finally canonized in 1546 by 
the Council of Trent.* 

VII. Other Axciext Versions. According to Da- 
vidson, the Xew Testament was also translated other ancient 
into the Sahidic. Coptic, and Basmuric dia- ^rsions of the 

x 7 New Testa- 

lects of Egypt, in the third century ; into the ment. 
Ethiopic and Gothic in the fourth ; into the Armenian and 
Syriac in the fifth j into the Gregorian or Iberic in the 
sixth ; and into the Anglo-Saxon in the eighth.f 

HEBREW MANUSCRIPTS. 

These are of two classes. The first are the Sacred Copies or 
Rolls for the Synagogues ; and the second are the two classes of 

-r, . r/ ' y^. • l r» Hebrew manu- 

Fnvate or bquare Copies made lor common use. scripts. 

The Rolls of the synagogue contain the Pentateuch ; the 
Haphtaroth, or sections of the Prophets ap- Ro ii sof the 
pointed to be read; and the book of Esther. s y ua s°s ue - 
They are required to be written on clean parchment and in 
the square Chaldee letters, according to the most exact rules 
and regulations. When no longer fit for use, they are 
buried in the earth; or in some other way put out of the 
reach of profane hands. And hence but few of them have 
ever come into the possession of Christians. 

* Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 265-284; and 698-704; Home, vol. ii. pp. 
198-202. 

t Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 596-704; Home's Introd., pp. 202-212; and 
Townley's Bib. Lit., Ancient Versions. 



220 REASON AND REVELATION. 

The Private or Square manuscripts, are also prepared ac- 
squaie manu- cording to very exact rules. But they may be 
scripts. written on either paper or parchment; and in 

either Chaldee or Rabbinical characters. 

With regard to the number and the order of books in the 
Prophets and the Kethubim, there is no uniformity, even 
among the highest Jewish authorities. The Talmudists 
Number and make twenty-four books, and arrange them as 
iu r t he°Tai- ' follows: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 
mud;- Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, 

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, the Twelve Minor Prophets, 
Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solo- 
mon, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Chronicles. 
The Masorites also make twenty-four books, and arrange 
in the Maso- them according to the following order: Gene- 
rah: sis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 

Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Eze- 
kiel, Twelve Minor Prophets, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, 
Canticles, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, 
and Chronicles.* The Spanish MSS., and nearly all the 
,. ^ Hebrew Bibles printed from them, follow the 

and in the man- - 1 - ' 

uscripts and order of the Masorites, with some slight vari- 
ations in the Kethubim. But the German and 
French Bibles and MSS. generally follow the Talmud. 
Jerome, Origen, and many other Christian fathers, as well 
as some of the most learned of the Jewish Rabbis, make 
but twenty-two books, and nearly every one of them has 
an order of his own.f 

The number of Hebrew MSS. now extant is very great. 
Number of He- Dr. Kennicott collated 630 for his critical edi- 

brew manu- . .. T _ 

scripts collated, tion ot the Hebrew Bible; and M. He Rossi 

* Stuart on the Old Test. Canon, p. 277; and Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 
330, 331. 

| Stuart on the Old Test. Canon, pp. 277, 278. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 221 

made use of 479 MSS., besides 288 printed editions, in 
making out his "Collection of Various Readings." But all 
the original autographs have perished; and it is thought 
that all existing apographs were written between A. D. 
1000 and A. D. 1457 ; when the art of printing became in 
a great measure a substitute for the art of penmanship. 
Most of these MSS. contain but a small portion of the Old 
Testament. 

For a description of fifty-three of the oldest and best He- 
brew MSS. see" Davidson's Biblical Criticism/' chapter xxiv. 

GREEK MANUSCRIPTS. 

Greek manuscripts are usually divided into Uncial and 
Cursive; the former are written in capital, and m 

' 1 7 Two classes of 

and the latter, in small letters. The oldest man- Greek manu- 

. , scripts. 

uscripts are written in large round or square cap- 
itals; and without any accents or division of words. But in 
the eighth and ninth centuries, the letters were made longer 
and narrower, and generally inclined a little either to the 
right or to the left. About the close of the ninth century, 
the small or cursive letters came into general use. 

The number of Greek manuscripts now extant is very great. 
In his "Introduction to the Critical Study of _ , 

J Number of 

the Bible," Thomas Hartwell Home speaks of Greek mss. ex- 
about 500 that had at that time been collated. 
But these, he says, are but a small part of all the MSS. 
that are to be found in public and private libraries. Most 
of them, however, contain only a part of the New Testa- 
ment. They are of all forms; and are written on both 
paper and parchment. 

Owing to the scarcity of parchment, before the invention 
of paper,* persons were often induced to obliterate the 

* According to Montfaucon, cotton-paper was invented about the close 



222 REASON AND REVELATION. 

works of ancient writers, in order to transcribe their own 
Paiimsestman- or those of some favorite author in their place, 
nscripts. These manuscripts are called Codices Palimsesti 

(jiahv — again and <paco — to rub) or Rescripti. 

Critics have discovered a characteristic resemblance be- 
Geo ™ hicai tween manuscripts written in certain localities 
classification of and within certain geographical limits. And 

manuscripts. .. . m 

on this ground, they are wont to classify them 
under certain Families or Recensions: such, for instance, as 
the Latin, Asiatic, Byzantine, and Alexandrine Recensions 
of Tischendorf. The Latin Recension is made to embrace 
all manuscripts which correspond most fully in all respects 
with the writings of the Latin fathers. And in like man- 
ner, Biblical critics are accustomed to distinguish and classify 
the Asiatic, the Byzantine, and the Alexandrine manuscripts. 
The Uncial manuscripts are now commonly represented 
symbols used by English and Greek capitals ; and the Cursive, 
to represent ^y Arabic numerals. For a description of the 

the Uncial and J *■ 

the cursive niost ancient and valuable manuscripts of both 
classes, I must again refer the reader to David- 
son and Home. I will merely introduce a few of them here 
for the sake of illustration. 

I. Manuscripts written in large Uncial or capital letters. 

A. The MS. known by this symbol is that which is usu- 
mu 4 , ally called the Alexandrine or Codex Alexan- 

The Alexan- J 

drinemanu- drinus. It once belonged to Cyrillis Lucaris, 
patriarch of Alexandria, and afterward of Con- 
stantinople. In A. D. 1628, he presented it to Charles I, 
king of England; and it is now in the British Museum. 
It is written on parchment; and consists of four volumes 

of the ninth or the beginning of the tenth century. But the mode of 
forming paper out of linen rags was not discovered till the twelfth 
century. The first paper-mill erected in England is said to have been 
at Dartford, in 1588. (Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. i, pp. 41, 42.) 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 223 

folio ; three of which contain the Septuagint text of the Old 
Testament, and the other contains the New Testament and 
the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. It is not en- 
tirely perfect. The first twenty-four chapters of Matthew, 
and the first five verses of the twenty-fifth are wanting; and 
also that portion of John's Gospel which is contained be- 
tween chapters vi : 50, and viii : 52. It is supposed to have 
been written at Alexandria in Egypt; though its text cor- 
responds more perfectly with the Byzantine or generally re- 
ceived text. Its date has been variously assigned ; but it is 
now pretty generally agreed that it was written in the fifth 
century.* 

B. The Codex Yaticanus is commonly represented by the 
letter B ; but in the Vatican Library, to which it Vatican manu- 
belongs, it is known by the number 1209. Its script - 
history is unknown. It is supposed to have been originally 
brought from Egypt, as its text corresponds most nearly with 
the Alexandrine. It is written on vellum in quarto form; and 
contains both the Septuagint Greek of the Old Testament and 
the original Greek of the New. But in the latter it is defi- 
cient from Hebrews ix : 14, to the end of the epistle : and it 
does not contain the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Phil- 
emon ; nor the Apocalypse. According to Tischendorf and 
others, it was written in the fourth century; and it is now 
generally allowed to be the oldest copy of the New Testament 
extant, except perhaps the Codex Sinaiticus.f 

C. The Codex Ephrsemi or Codex Regius Parisiensis is 
generally represented by the letter C. It is pre- Codex Epbne- 
served in the Imperial Library at Paris ; and mi - 
contains several Greek works of Ephraem the Syrian, writ- 
ten over the Greek text of the Old and New Testaments. 

* See Home's Introduction, vol. ii, pp. 66-73; and Davidson's Bib. Crit. 
717-720. 

|Horne, pp. 73-76; Davidson, pp, 721-727. 



Codex Bezae. 



224 REASON AND REVELATION. 

The traces of the Sacred text are, however, still visible ; and 
in most places legible. It is the purest example extant of 
the Alexandrine Recension ; and is supposed by Teschendorf 
and others to have been written in the fifth century.* 

D. The Codex Bezse is also called the Codex Cantabri- 
giensis, because it was presented to the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge, in England, by the cele- 
brated Theodore Beza, in 1581. It is written on parchment 
in folio, and contains the four Gospels and the Acts of the 
Apostles, with a Latin translation : but its lacuna? or omis- 
sions are very numerous. The general opinion is, that it was 
written about the end of the fifth century.f 

Cod. Sin. This MS. was discovered by Dr. A. F. C. 
codex sinaiti- Tischendorf, in the Convent of St. Catherine 
cus - at Mount Sinai, in A. D. 1859. He refers it 

to the fourth century ; and thinks it is the oldest MS. ex- 
tant. It contains all the New Testament, except Mark xvi: 
9-20; John viii: 1-11; and sundry other minor passages 
that have long been regarded by the most eminent critics as 
spurious. And hence it confirms, to a very remarkable ex- 
tent, the results of Biblical criticism. % 

The order of Books in this MS. is as follows : Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, John, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, 
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalo- 
nians, 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, 
Titus, Philemon, Acts, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 
2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. 

For a description of about thirty more Uncial MSS. see 
" Davidson's Biblical Criticism/' pp. 734-763. 

II. Greek manuscripts written in small or cursive letters. — 

*Horne, vol. ii, pp. 89, 90; and Davidson, pp. 727-731. 
t Home, pp. 85-89; and Davidson, pp. 731-734. 

X See Prolegomena to the Novum Testamentum Greece ex Sinaitico Co- 
dice of Tischendorf. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 225 

The number prefixed is that by which the MS. is generally 
known or represented. 

1. Codex Basiliensis, B. vi, 27. This MS. is written on 
parchment, and contains all the New Testa- 

x > Illustrative ex - 

ment except the Apocalypse. It is supposed ampiea of cur- 

. . V i l sive^ISS. 

to have been written m the tenth century, and 
preserved in the University of Basel. 

69. Leicestrensis. This MS. is written partly on parch- 
ment and partly on paper. It contains the entire New 
Testament, with some gaps; was written in the fourteenth 
century ; and belongs to the Public Library of Leicester. 

209. This is a MS. of the fourteenth or fifteenth century, 
written on parchment in octavo ; and contains the whole of 
the New Testament. It is now in Venice. 

After describing more than thirty cursive MSS., Davidson 
says : " Upward of five hundred cursive MSS. of Number of 
the Gospels, ranging in date from the tenth to suchextant - 
the sixteenth century, have been partially examined. More 
than two hundred of the same kind contain the Acts and 
Catholic Epistles; upward of three hundred contain the 
Pauline Epistles ; and one hundred have the Apocalypse. 
But the list, large as it is, might be much increased : for 
there are many in the great public libraries of England and 
the Continent of Europe as yet unknown." * 

PARALLEL PASSAGES. 

These are divided by Davidson into three classes. 

I. Historical sections repeated: such as the ^ . a , 

1 Davidson s 

often-repeated tables of genealogy ; the books classification 
of Kings and Chronicles, and the four inde- 
pendent Narratives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 

II. Laws, poems, and oracles which have been repeated 

* Davidson's Bib. Crit., p. 770. 

15 



226 REASON AND REVELATION. 

by the same author, or by different authors. Compare, for 
instance, the following passages : 

1. Exodus xx : 2-17 and Deuteronomy v : 6-21. 

2. Leviticus xi: 2-19 " Deuteronomy xiv : 4-18. 

3. Psalm xviii: 2-50 " 2 Samuel xxii: 1-51. 

4. Psalm cv : 1-15 " 1 Chronicles xvi : 8-22. 

5. Isaiah ii : 2-4 " Micah iv: 1-3. 

6. Matt, xxviii: 18-20. " Mark xvi: 15-18. 

7. 1 Timothy iii : 1-7 " Titus i: 5-9. 

III. Repeated sentences, propositions, and proverbs. Com- 
pare, for example : 

16. 



1. 


Numbers xxiv : 3, 4 


and 


Numbers xxiv : 15, 


2. 


Isaiah xxxv : 10 


£( 


Isaiah li: 11. 


3. 


Jeremiah xv : 2 


U 


Jeremiah xliii : 11. 


4. 


Ezekieli: 15-21 


a 


Ezekiel x: 8-17. 


5, 


Proverbs viii : 8 


u 


Proverbs xx : 22. 


6. 


Luke xxiv : 48-51 


u 


Acts i : 4-9. 



That such comparisons, in connection with other means 
and sources of Biblical criticism, may often assist us in puri- 
fying the text, is very obvious. But great caution is neces- 
sary in this, as well indeed as in every other department of 
this most important and interesting science. 

QUOTATIONS. 

These may be conveniently classified under the three fol- 
lowing heads : 

Three classes I- Quotations from the Old Testament by the 

of quotations. inspired writers of the New Testament. 

II. Quotations from the Old Testament by the Rabbini- 
cal fathers. 

III. Quotations from both the Old and the New Testa- 
ment by the Christian fathers. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 227' 

The examples under each of these are very numerous ; 
and in the hands of the skillful and judicious critic may be 
of great service in separating the chaff from the wheat j the 
spurious from that which is genuine. 

CRITICAL CONJECTURE. 

By this is meant simply a fair and judicious examination 
of all the internal evidence of a passage; or The proper 

i . . /» . , .'li province and 

such as may arise out ot a just grammatical and scope of cri ticai 
logical analvsis of the entire context. And con J ecture - 
hence, as Davidson well remarks, Critical Conjecture is very 
different from Theological Conjecture. It must be confessed, 
however, that the latter has often been mistaken and substi- 
tuted for the former ; and hence this fifth and last source of 
Biblical criticism should be relied on only in case of neces- 
sity : and even then, it should be used with the utmost cau- 
tion. Indeed, in all such investigations, we should ever 
remember with the learned and eloquent Gaus- „ 

1 Proper scope of 

sen, that Sacred Criticism is merely a Scientific Biblical criti- 

Inquirer, and not a j udge ; a Historian and not 

a Soothsayer ; a Doorkeeper of the Temple, and not its God. 

We will now take a few examples merely for the sake of 
illustration. 

I. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
evil: [for thine is the kingdom, and the power, rn„ s trations. 
and the glory, forever. Amen.] (Matt, vi : 13.) Matt - vi: 13 - 

The clause contained within the brackets is found, 

1. In many ancient versions, such as the Syriac, Arabic, 
Persian, Ethiopic, Arminian, Gregorian, Gothic, Coptic, and 
Sahidic. 

2. In many Greek MSS. 

3. In the writings of many of the Greek fathers. 

4. It is consistent with the context. 



228 REASON AND REVELATION. 

But it is wanting, 

1. In the Old Italic, Vulgate, and some other ancient ver- 
sions. 

2. In some of the most important Greek MSS., such as 
Cod. Sin. B, D, Z, 1, 17, etc. 

3. In the writings of all the Latin and some of the Greek 
authors. 

4. It is much easier to account for its beinar added as a 
supplement; than for its omission by so many authorities. 
And hence it has been generally rejected by the most able 
critics from Erasmus down to the present time. 

II. "And Philip said, if thou believest with all thy heart, 
thou mayest. And he answered and said, I be- 

Acts viii • 37. 

lieve that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 
(Acts viii : 37.) 

This verse is found, 

1. In the Vulgate and some other ancient versions. 

2. In E and ten other cursive MSS. specified by Scholz. 

3. In the writings of Irenaeus, Jerome, Cyprian, Augus- 
tine, and some other Christian fathers. 

4. It is certainly in harmony with the context. 
But it is wanting, 

1. In the Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, and several other an- 
cient versions. 

2. In Cod. Sin. A, B, C, H, L, and more than forty cur- 
sive MSS. 

3. In the writings of Chrysostom, and some other Greek 
fathers. 

4. It is easier to account for the insertion of this verse 
wherever it does occur, than for its omission by so many 
ancient authorities. And hence it is rejected as spurious 
by Grotius, Mill, Wetstein, Pearce, Gratz, Teschendorf, Tre- 
gelles, Alford, and many other able critics. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 229 

III. For there are three that bear record, [in heaven : 
the Father, the AVord, and the Holy Spirit: and 

' _ i Uohnv: 7,8. 

these three are one. And there are three that 
bear witness on earth ;] the Spirit, and the water, and the 
blood; and these three agree in one. (1 John v: 7, 8.) 
The words in brackets are wanting, 

1. In all the ancient versions. 

2. In all Greek manuscripts previous to the sixteenth 
century. 

3. In the writings of all the Greek and many of the Latin 
fathers. 

4. They are not in harmony with the scope of the writer. 
And hence they are now rejected as spurious by all our 

best critics. 



CHAPTER II. 

HISTORY OF BIBLICAL CRITICISM. 



Biblical criticism is a modern science. Its origin, or 
perhaps Ave should rather say its embryonic _ . . 

11 j j Origin and 

state, may be fixed at about the beginning of progress of Bib- 

, . , -~ ,. -,-. lical criticism. 

the sixteenth century. But according to Da- 
vidson and most other eminent critics, it did not attain to 
its full manhood as a science, till the beginning of the 
eighteenth century. Since that important epoch in the his- 
tory of Sacred Literature, the labor bestowed on Biblical 
criticism has been prodigiously great. This will be best 
illustrated by a brief notice of the most important editions 
of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Testament. 



230 REASON AND REVELATION. 



EDITIONS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE. 



First printed 



I. The first entire printed copy of the Hebrew 
edition of the Bible was published at Soncino in Lombardy, 

Hebrew Bible. ± R -^^ ^ ^^^ Ben Chayim * 

II. The next edition makes no reference to either the time 
The second or the place of its publication. De Rossi, sup- 
edition. poses that it, too, was published at Soncino.f 

III. The third is the Gerson edition, published at Bres- 
The Gerson c * a i n Lombardy, A. D. 1494. This is the 
edition. edition from which Luther made his German 
translation. The copy which he used is still in the Royal 
Library at Berlin ; an object of great interest and curiosity 
to Protestants.'! 

IV. The first edition of the Hebrew Bible, printed and 
compiutentian published by Christians, is the famous Com- 
Poiygiot. plutentian Polyglot. It was commenced in 
A. D. 1502, under the patronage of Cardinal Ximenes, arch- 
bishop of Toledo in Spain : and after the uninterrupted la- 
bors of fifteen years, it was finished in 1517. But permis- 
sion to publish it was not procured from Pope Leo X, till 
the 22d of March, 1520: and hence it was not actually 

a , published till 1522. It was then first issued 

Date and place ■*■ 

of its pubiica- from Complutum or Alcala in Spain. 

We learn from the Cardinal's biography, as 
Means used given by Esprit Flecher, bishop of Nismes, that 
for this great work he procured seven Hebrew 
MSS., at a cost of about four thousand crowns in gold, be- 
sides the Greek MSS. sent to him from Rome, and many 
Latin MSS. brought from foreign countries, or procured 
from the Libraries of Spain; every one of which was at least 
eight hundred years old. The entire cost of the work is 

♦Davidson's Bib. Crit., p. 140. I Ibid, P- 140. J Ibid, p. 140. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 231 

estimated at more than fifty thousand crowns of gold ; or 
about fifty-four thousand five hundred dollars. 

The whole Bible was divided into six parts, comprised in 
four volumes. The Old Testament contained the 

Its contents. 

Hebrew ; the Vulgate Latin ; the Greek of the 
Septuagint with a Latin translation ; and a Chaldee paraphrase 
with a similar Latin interpretation. The New Testament 
contains simply the Greek Text and the Latin Vulgate.* 

V. For the next great advance made in Hebrew Sacred 
literature, we are indebted to Daniel Bomberg. He was a 
native of Antwerp in Spain, but settled in Ven- _.... 

J- " > Editions of 

ice, and for many years devoted his press exclus- Daniel B om - 

ively to Hebrew and Rabbinical literature. He 

is said to have kept in his employ, as editors, printers, and 

correctors of his press, about one hundred of the most learned 

Jews that he could find ; and it is estimated, that in printing 

alone, he spent not less than three or four million crowns of 

gold.f 

By his great exertions and liberality eight editions of the 
Hebrew Bible were issued from his press : five „ 

J- Contents of his 

in quarto, and three in folio. His three folio, three Rabbini- 
otherwise called his three Rabbinical editions, 
are the most valuable. Besides the Hebrew text, they all 
contain the most valuable of the Targums, and several Rab- 
binical commentaries; and the second and third also contain 
the Masorah. 

The first of these was edited by Felix Pratensis, a con- 
verted Jew, and published in 1518. The sec- m , . ,. 

L Their editors 

ond was edited by Rabbi Jacob Ben Chayim, a and date of 
learned Jew from Tunis in Africa ; and pub- 
lished, A. D. 1525-1526. The third was edited by Come- 

* Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 141, 142; and Townley's Bib. Lit, vol. i, 
pp. 549-551. 

f Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. ii. p. 151. 



232 REASON AND REVELATION. 

lius Adelkind, another erudite Jew; and published, A. D. 
1547-1549. " This, on the whole/' says Davidson, " is the 
most copious and most correct Rabbinical Bible extant." 
And Adam Clarke says, " It is the most useful, the most 
correct, and the most valuable Hebrew Bible ever pub- 
lished."* 

YI. The Gerson, Complutentian, and second edition of 
The Antwerp Bomberg, are commonly styled independent edi- 
Poiygiot. tions. They were followed by many others of a 

mixed text. Such, for instance, was the Antwerp Polyglot, 
of eight volumes folio, published in 1569-1572, by Philip II, 
King of Spain. It contains the Complutentian text collated 
with that of Bomberg.f 

VII. The Antwerp again was made the basis of the Paris 
The Paris Poiy- Polyglott of ten volumes folio, published in 
glut - 1645. This edition contains the Hebrew, Sa- 
maritan, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, and Latin texts.J 

VIII. The Antwerp was also made the basis of the Lon- 
The London don Polyglot of six volumes folio, published 
Polyglot. in 1657# Tne editions of Eobert Stevens, 
Christopher Plantin, and several other enterprising pub- 
lishers, were also taken chiefly from the same text.|| 

IX. Buxtorf s Rabbinical Bible, published at Basel, in 
Buxtorfs two 1618-1619, was formed on the basis of Bom- 
editions. berg's third edition, collated with the Masorah. 
This and his manual edition of 1611, are both of great 
value. § 

X. The most recent Rabbinical Bible, and in some re- 
simon'sRab- spects the most complete ever published, is the 
binicai Bible. Amsterdam edition, edited by Moses Ben Si- 
mon, in four volumes folio, A. D. 1724-1727.1[ 

* Davidson's Bib. Crit., pp. 142-145; and Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. ii, 
p. 151. 

t Davidson, p. 145. $ Ibid, p. 146. || Ibid. § Ibid. ^ Ibid, p. 147. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 233 

XI. The Hebrew Bible of Eabbi Joseph Athias, of Am- 
sterdam, with a Latin preface by the learned Edition of j - 
John Leusden, is also worthy of special notice. seph Athias - 
The first edition of it was published in 1661, and the second 
in 1667, in two volumes 8vo. The former is the first edi- 
tion in which the verses were distinguished by Arabic nu- 
merals : and for the latter, the States-General presented to 
the author a chain of gold and a gold medal pendant.* 

XII. The edition of Athias was made the basis of that 
of Opitius, and also that of Van der Hooght. Edition of o P i- 
Thc former was first published at Kiel, in Den- tius - 
mark, 1709. It is one of the most accurate ever printed. 
Thirty years were spent in its preparation. The edition of 
Van der Hooght is also of great value. It is particularly 
distinguished for the beauty of its type; the AT , 

o J J a ' v an der 

accuracy of its text; and its convenience for Hoogbt's edi- 
ordinary use. It has received the appellation 
of " The Textus Receptus " in Hebrew. It was first pub- 
lished at Amsterdam and Utrecht in 1705; and has been 
made the basis of many subsequent editions, f 

XIII. In 1720, J. H. Michaelis, of Halle, published an 
edition, in preparing which he compared twenty- Edition of Mi _ 
four of the best editions and five MSS. It is chaelis - 
generally regarded as a valuable contribution to Sacred liter- 
ature.* 

XIV. About the middle of the eighteenth century, Dr. 
Kennicott, of Oxford, encouraged by the liber- K 0nil i CO tt's 
ality of the English Government, undertook the edition - 
work of a more thorough examination of the Hebrew text. 
He and his colaborers collected together and compared 694 
codices ; embracing Hebrew MSS., printed editions of the 
Hebrew Bible, and the most valuable of the Rabbinical 

* Townley's Bib. Lit., vol. ii, p. 490. 

t Davidson, pp. 149 and 159. J Davidson, p. 150. 



234 REASON AND REVELATION. 

works, particularly the Talmud. The first volume of his 
work was published in 1776; and the second, in 1780. 
This, on the whole, is one of the most valuable contribu- 
tions that has ever been made to Biblical criticism; though 
it failed to meet the expectations of the public. One thing 
it has fully demonstrated: that there is a very great har- 
mony between existing Hebrew manuscripts and the Ma- 
sorah. And from all that we know of the 

Present state , 10 

of the Hebrew veneration which the Jews had for the Sacred 
Books — a veneration bordering on superstition, 
we can not but think the Masoretic text is in the main a 
very correct one. And hence we have reason to believe 
that the Hebrew text, though still containing many im- 
purities, is far from being as corrupt as many have sup- 
posed.* 

XV. Soon after Dr. Kennicott commenced his labors in 
work of De England, a similar work was undertaken in 
Kossi. Italy, by John Bernard de Rossi, Professor of 
Oriental languages at Parma. His " Collection of Various 
Readings," consisting of four volumes, was published in 
1788, to which a supplemental volume was added in 1798. 
It is a work of great merit.f 

XVI. In 1806, Prof. John Jahn, of Vienna, published 

an edition of four volumes 8vo. The text is 
in the main that of Van der Hooght, with the 
various readings of Kennicott and De Rossi. J 

XVII. In 1831, Dr. Augustus Hahn, of Leipsic, pub- 
Hahr/s Man- lished a manual edition of Van der Hooght's 
uaL text, with sundry corrections. This with some 
slight emendations by Isaac Leeser and Joseph Jaquett, is 
the text-book now generally used in our American Institu- 
tions. 

* Davidson, pp. 152-155. fl^id, pp. 156, 157. J Ibid, p. 158. 



edition of the 
Greek Testa- 
ment. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 235 



EDITIONS OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT. 

I. The first printed edition of the entire New Testament 
was that of the Complutentian Polyglot, under Piret printed 
the auspices of Cardinal Ximenes. The work 
was completed on the 10th of January, 1514; 
but it was not published till 1522.* 

II. The first published Greek Testament was that of Eras- 
mus, at Basel, in Switzerland, 1516. It contains Fir8t pushed 
a Latin translation, based partly on the Vulgate. edltl0U - 

In preparing this edition, Erasmus used only fiye MSS., and 
these were too hastily collated. A second edition was pub- 
lished in 1519; a third in 1522; a fourth in 1527; and a 
fifth in 1535, all in folio, and from the same press.f 

III. From the Complutentian and the Erasmian editions, 
many others were formed with but slight alter- __ 

J ° Editions based 

ations. Thus, for instance, the Complutentian chiefly on the 

, , , Complutentian 

was made the basis, 

1. Of the first two editions of Eobert Stephens, published 
at Paris in 1546 and 1549. 

2. The Plantin editions of Antwerp in 1564, 1573, 1574, 
and 1590. 

3. The Antwerp Polyglot in 1571, 1572. 

4. The editions of Rapheleng of Leyden, in 1591, 1601, 
and 1612. 

5. The Genevan editions in 1609, 1619, 1620, 1628, and 
1632. 

6. The Xew Testament of the Paris Polyglot, by Le Jay 
in 1645.1 

In like manner the text of Erasmus was followed by John 
Bebelius, of Basel, in 1524, 1531, and 1535; by Cephaleus, 



*Tregelles on the Printed Text of the Greek Testament, pp. 1-11 ; and 
Davidson, p. 552. 

t Tregelles, pp. 19-28. J Davidson, p. 5 7. 



236 REASON AND REVELATION. 

of Strasburgh, in 1524 and 1534; by Eobert Stephens in his 
„.... . . third edition at Paris in 1550, and in his fourth 

Editions based 7 

on the Erasmi- at Gene va in 1551. This is the first into which 

an Text. ,-,... „ . , -. .. _. 

the division of verses was introduced. Many 
other editions followed; some on the basis of the Complu- 
tentian ; some on the basis of the Erasmian text ; and some 
on that of Stephens.* 

IV. The next edition worthy of our special attention is 
Editions of that of Theodore Beza, of Geneva, in 1565. It 
Beza. contains the Greek text of Stephens, amended ; 
the Vulgate ; and a Latin translation made by Beza himself. 
The second edition of this work was published in 1582 ; the 
third in 1589 ; and the fourth in 1598.f 

V. In 1624, appeared the first Elzevir edition at Ley- 
Eizevir edi- den. -The name of the editor is unknown ; and 
tions - it is therefore called by the name of the printer. 
It follows the third edition of Stephens, differing from it 
only in 145 places. The second edition was issued from the 
same press, in 1633. This is the best of the Elzevir editions. 
In its preface, the editor says to the reader : " textum ergo 
habes nunc ab omnibus receptum. You have therefore now 
a text received by all" These words were prophetic; for 
this edition really became the JEditio recepta ; and it contains 
the Textus receptus. 

What is now called the Received Text has of course been 
The Textus variously modified since 1633 ; but it is still sub- 
receptus. stant tally the same as that of the second edition 

of the Elzevirs. This was taken chiefly from that of Beza ; 
and Beza's from that of Stephens ; and Stephens's from the 
Erasmian and the Complutentian. Hence it is of necessity 
a very imperfect text .J 

* Davidson, pp. 558-561 ; and Tregelles, pp. 30-32. 

t Davidson, p. 562. Tregelles, p. 33. 

J Davidson, p. 563; and Tregelles, pp. 34, 35. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 237 

"VI. The Greek Testament of Brian Walton, the very 
learned and celebrated editor of the London W aitWa edi- 
Polyglot, gave a new impulse to Biblical criti- tlon - 
cism. It constitutes the fifth volume of that great work; 
and contains the Greek text with a Latin version : also the 
Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic, and in the Gospels the 
Persic; each with its own translation. The sixth volume 
contains the various readings of sixteen carefully collated 
MBS.* 

VII. The critical edition of Dr. John Fell, bishop of 
Oxford, published in 1675, is also a valuable 

71 7 Fell's edition. 

work. It contains the various readings of one 
hundred MSS. Here, according to Davidson, ends the in- 
fancy of Biblical Criticism; and its manhood begins. f 

VIII. In 1707, Dr. John Mill, of Oxford, gave to the 
world a new edition of the Greek Testament. Edition of 

It was the work of thirty years' hard labor ; John MilL 
and was published only fourteen days before the author's 
death. In it, he brought together all the various readings 
of previous editions, and added many of his own discovery: 
amounting in all, it is said, to about thirty thousand. This, 
for a time, greatly excited the fears of many. They were 
apprehensive that such investigations would only serve to 
shake the foundations of the Christian religion. But most 
of these variations are very trifling and insignificant. And 
it is now believed, that but few men of modern times, have 
really done more to strengthen and confirm our faith in 
the Word of God than John Mill.J 

IX. The first successful attempt to amend the Received 
Text, by a judicious application of accumulated B enger 8 edi- 
materials, was made by John Albert Bengal, tion - 

* Davidson, p. 565 ; see also Townley, vol. ii, p. 445. 

t Davidson, p. 5GG ; and Tregelles, p. 40. 

% Tregelles, pp. 42-48 ; and Davidson, p. 567. 



238 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Abbot of Alpirspach, in Wirtemberg. The first edition of 
his Greek Testament was published at Tubingen in 1734. 
Several other editions were afterward printed both at Tu- 
bingen and Stutgard.* 

X. In 1751, appeared the first edition of John James 
Edition of wet- Wetstein, a native of Basel, but then a citizen 
Bteiu - of Amsterdam. It too was the fruit of thirty 

years' hard labor. It surpasses all previous editions in the 
copiousness and value of its various readings, with their re- 
spective authorities.! 

XL Preeminent in this department of Sacred Criticism, 
„ > , , stands Dr. John James Griesbach, of Halle. 

Critical works ' 

and labors of His first volume consisting of the first three 
Gospels synoptically arranged, was published 
in 1774. His second volume containing John and Acts 
followed the next year : and before the close of the same 
year his third volume containing the Epistles and Revela- 
tion, was given to the public. In 1777, he published the 
Gospels and the Acts in their usual order. His labors con- 
stitute an important era in the criticism of the Greek Testa- 
ment. For accuracy, sound judgment, good taste, and crit- 
ical ability, he excels all his predecessors. Greater reliance 
can be placed on his references and extracts, than on any that 
had been before given to the public. % 

XII. Between 1782 and 1788, Christian Frederic Matthsei, 
Matthsei's edi- °f Moscow, published at Riga in Russia, a new 
tion - edition of the Greek Testament, accompanied with 
the Vulgate. For this work he collated about one hundred 
MSS.|| 

XIII. In 1788, Prof. Birch, of Copenhagen, commenced 
critical labors his publications in Sacred Criticism. His chief 
of Prof. Birch. me rit consists in the collation of one hundred 

* Davidson, p. 569. J Tregelles, pp. 83-91 ; and Davidson, p. 573. 

t Ibid, p. 570. || Davidson, p. 575. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 239 

and twenty MSS. His last volume on the Apocalypse, was 
published in 1800. 

XI V. Between 1797 and 1840, several minor editions 
were published by Knapp, Pittman, Vater, Minor erlitiong 
Schott, and others. But they ail followed with derived from 

_, . Uriesbach's. 

more or less exactness the great work or Gries- 
bach ; a second edition of which was published at Halle and 
Loudon in 1796 and 1806; and a third at Berlin by Prof. 
Schulz, of Breslau, in 1827.* 

XV. In 1830, appeared at Leipzic the first volume of the 
Critical Edition of the Xew Testament by Dr. Edition of Prof. 
Martin Augustus Scholz, one of the Roman Cath- Scholz - 

olic professors at Bonn : and the second volume was published 
in 1836. More than twelve years of incessant activity were 
spent by the editor, in collecting material for his work. He 
personally visited the Royal Library at Paris, and also that 
of Vienna, Munich, Landshut, Berlin, Treves, London, Ge- 
neva, Turin, Milan, that of St. Mark's in Venice, Mute in 
Sicily, three in Florence, that of Bologna, nine in Rome in- 
cluding the Vatican, that of Xaples, and those of the Greek 
monasteries at Jerusalem, St. Saba, and the Isle of Patmos. 
At all these places, he compared with the text of Griesbach, 
whatever ancient versions, manuscripts, and other available 
materials he could find. Xo less than 67-4 MSS. were used 
in preparing the work; 210 of which were collated by Scholz 
himself. In some respects he had therefore greater advan- 
tages than Griesbach ; but he lacked the critical perception 
and delicate skill of his great predecessor. His work is, 
however, a great improvement on the Received Text, and is 
a much nearer approach to it, than is that of Griesbach.* 

XVI. In 1831, Charles Lachmann, of Berlin, published 
a small manual edition of the Greek Testament. Edition of 
This was followed in 1842, by the first volume Lachmann - 

* Davidson, p. 580. | Ibid, pp. 580-581 ; and Tregelles, pp. 02-96. 



240 REASON AND REVELATION. 

of a larger work ; and in 1850 by the second volume. The 
design of the author was to give the best historically attested 
readings of the first four centuries, especially from Oriental 
sources. And hence the work seems to have been intended 
rather as a contribution to assist in restoring the original text, 
than to serve as the best representation of it. In this light, 
it is of great value.* 

XVII. The editions of Tischendorf are all works of merit. 
Editions of The first appeared at Leipzic in 1841; the next 
Tischendorf. tnree were pu bli s hed at Paris in 1842; and a 
much improved edition was published at Leipzic in 1849. 
This or the last edition of Henry Alford, is the best for such 
as desire to have but one.-f 

XVIII. Dr. S. P. Tregelles of England, has for many 
critical labors years been engaged in preparing a large critical 
and auaiifica- e ^ lt [ on f the Greek Testament. Only the four 

tions of Tregel- J 

ies. Gospels have yet been published. But much is 

expected from the labors of this very laborious and learned 
editor. " We believe," says Davidson, " that his accuracy in 
making collations and faithfully recording them, is superior 
to that evinced by any of the great editors, Mill, Wetstein, 
Griesbach, Lachmann, or Tischendorf." This is certainly a 
very high commendation. £ 

Thus, gentle reader, I have endeavored to give you a 
miniature sketch of the vast field and history of 
ed in Biblical Biblical Criticism. It is of course very unsatis- 
factory. But I hope that it is sufficient to gi\ e 
you some idea of the immense labors that have been expended 
within the last three hundred years, by men of the greatest 
learning and of the very first order of talents, in their efforts 
to purify the Sacred Text; and to restore to the Church and 
to the world the original Hebrew and Greek as they were first 

* Davidson, p. 585. tlbid, P- 589. 

\ Davidson, p. 592. See also Tregelles on the Printed Text, pp. 151-173. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 241 

recorded bv inspired prophets and apostles. Within this short 
period of time, every word and even every letter of the en- 
tire Bible, and especially of the New Testament, has been ex- 
amined, and reexamined; and compared again and again, and 
again, with manuscripts, and versions, and other documents 
collected together from all parts of Christendom. And the 
result is the discovery of perhaps not less than Pl . ob ab]e num. 
one hundred thousand different readings in ber ° f various 

o readings dis- 

existing editions and manuscripts of the Holy covered. 
Bible. 

A most fearful result truly ! you may be disposed to ex- 
claim ; and one which may well excite the fears T 

7 J Impression 

and alarms of all good and pious men. Well, it produced by 
is not unreasonable that this should be your first 
impression. It was, for a time, the painful impression of even 
some of the learned editors to whom I have referred in the 
preceding pages. It was this feeling of alarm that induced 
the learned and pious Bengel to undertake the great work 
of revising the Scriptures primarily for his own satisfaction. 
But after many years of excessive toil and laborious research, 
he wrote to his friend and disciple Reus, as follows : " Eat 
simply," says he, "the bread of the Scriptures as Remarks ot 
it presents itself to thee ; and do not distress thy- Ben s eL 
self at finding here and there a small particle of sand which 
the millstone may have left in it. Thou mayst then dismiss 
all those doubts which at one time so horribly tormented my- 
self. If the Holy Scriptures, which have been so often copied, 
and which have passed so often through the faulty hands of 
fallible men, were absolutely without variations, the miracle 
Avould be so great, that faith in them would no longer be faith. 
I am astonished, on the contrary, that the result of all these 
transcriptions has not been a much greater number of differ- 
ent readings." * 

*Gaussen on Inspiration, p. 195. 

16 



242 REASON AND REVELATION. 

The truth is, that most of these various readings practi- 
Unimportant C ^J amount to nothing. They consist simply 
character of | n t j ie different arrangement of words, or the 

most of these & > 

different read- use of one synonyme for another, or one letter 
for another, or some other equally unimportant 
variation. The proper name David, for instance, is spelled 
in four different ways in the Greek MSS. In those that 
follow the Elzevir, or Received Text, it is Aaftcd ; in P, Q, 
and Z, it is Aaoad ; and in A, B, C, D, E, G, L, T, X, etc., 
it is sometimes Jo.oco and sometimes dauscd. 

I might here multiply such illustrations indefinitely. But 
I prefer giving to the reader a few extracts from our high- 
est and best authorities in such matters. The learned 
Remarks of Samuel Davidson says : " Having thus given a 
Davidson : first higtory of the text, printed as well as unpriuted, 

on what cnti- J 7 *■ *- ' 

cism has not and having shown the various attempts made to 

done. .... . -, -, 

restore it to its pristine purity, we may add a 
few words on the general result obtained. The effect of it 
has been to establish the genuineness of the New Testament 
text in all important particulars. No new doctrine has been 
elicited by its aid: nor have any historical facts been sum- 
moned by it from their obscurity. All the doctrines and duties 
of Christianity remain unaffected P 

Hence the question arises, Of what utility has it been to 

the world? Why have all this labor and in- 

Seeondly, on J 

what it has ac- dustry been applied ? Have all the researches 
of modern criticism been wasted ? We believe 
they have not. They have proved one thing — that in the rec- 
ords of inspiration there is no material corruption. They 
have shown successfully, that during the lapse of many centu- 
ries, the text of Scripture has been preserved with great care; 
that it has not been extensively tampered with by daring hands. 
It is not very different now from what it was seventeen hun- 
dred years ago. Critics, with all their research, have not 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 243 

been able to show that the common text varies essentially 
from what they now recommend as coming nearest to its 
earliest form. It is substantially the same as the text they 
propose. Thus criticism has been gradually building a 
foundation, or rather proving the immovable security of a 
foundation on which the Christian faith may safely rest. It 
has taught us to regard the Scriptures as they now are to 
be Divine in their origin. We may boldly challenge the 
opponent of the Bible to show that the book has been mate- 
rially corrupted. Empowered by the fruits of criticism, we 
may well say that the Scriptures continue essentially the 
same as when they proceeded from the writers themselves. 

Hence none need be alarmed when he hears of the vast 
collection of various readings accumulated by Effect of this 
the collators of MSS. and critical editors. The 01 ^ urfaith - 
majority of these are of a trifling kind ; resembling differ- 
ences in the collocation of words and synonymous expres- 
sions which writers of different tastes evince. Confiding in 
the general integrity of our religious records, we can look 
upon a quarter or half a million of various readings with 
calmness, since they are so unimportant as not to affect re- 
ligious belief. We can thank God that we are able to walk 
without apprehension, over the sacred field he has given us 
to explore. Our faith in the integrity of his word is neither 
a blind nor superstitious feeling, when all the results of 
learning incontestibly show, that the present Scriptures may 
be regarded as uninjured in their transmission through many 
ages; and that no effort of infidelity can avail to demon- 
strate their supposititious character. 

Let the illiterate reader of the New Testament also take 
comfort by learning, that the received text to „ 

J ° 7 Encourage- 

which he is accustomed, is substantially the same »'< j »t to the 

as that which men of the greatest learning, the 

most unwearied research, and the severest studies, have 



244 REASON AND REVELATION. 

found in a prodigious heap of documents. Let him go for- 
ward with a heart grateful to the God of salvation, who has 
put him in possession of the same text as is in the hands of 
the great Biblical editors whose names stand out in the lit- 
erature of the Scriptures.* 

" Of the various readings of the New Testament," says 
Remarks of Mr. Norton, " nineteen out of twenty, at least, are 
Mr. Norton on ^ De &[ sm [ sse( { a t nce from consideration ; not 

the character ' 

of the different on account of their intrinsic unimportance — that 
is a separate consideration — but simply because 
they are found in so few authorities, and their origin is so 
easily explained, that no critic would regard them as having 
any claim to be inserted in the text. Of those which re- 
main, a very great majority are entirely unimportant. They 
consist in different modes of spelling ; in different tenses of 
the same verb or different cases of the same noun, not affect- 
ing the essential meaning ; in the use of the singular for the 
plural, or the plural for the singular, where either one or 
the other is equally suitable ; in the insertion or omission 
of particles, such as dv and os, not affecting the sense, or of 
the article in cases equally unimportant; in the introduction 
of a proper name, when if not inserted, the personal pro- 
noun is to be understood, or of some other word or words 
expressive of a sense which would be distinctly implied with- 
out them ; in the addition of Jesus to Christ, or Christ to 
Jesus ; in the substitution of one synonymous or equivalent 
term for another ; in the transposition of words, leaving their 
signification the same; in the use of an uncompounded 
verb ; or of the same verb compounded with a preposition — 
the latter differing from the former only in a shade of mean- 
ing. Such various readings, and others equally unimpor- 
tant, compose far the greater part of all, concerning which 
there may be or there has been a question whether they are 
* Davidson's Bib. Grit., pp. 593, 594. 



INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE. 245 

to be admitted into the text or not ; and it is therefore ob- 
viously of no consequence in which way the question has 
been or may be determined."* 

In these statements, the learned of all schools and classes 
now acquiesce. Even the bitterest enemies of 

1 This ground 

Christianity have nothing more to say on this abandoned by 
point. " They have ceased/' says Michaelis, 
" henceforth to look for any thing from those critical re- 
searches which they at first so warmly recommended, because 
they expected discoveries from them that have never been 
made."f The learned Eichhorn, for instance, Remarks of 
though an uncompromising Rationalist, con- Eicl,no111 - 
cedes that "the different readings of the Hebrew manu- 
scripts, collected by Kennicott, hardly offer sufficient interest 
to compensate for the trouble they cost.^J But these nega- 
tive results are iust what every Christian had „ 

u \ alue of these 

reason to anticipate. And as Gaussen very just- 
ly says : " They are of immense value in virtue 
of their nothingness; and all powerful in virtue of their in- 
significance." || 

Thanks then be to God for his wonderful providential 
care of the Holy Bible ! Since it was written, what changes 
have occurred in the world ! How many thrones, and king- 
doms, and empires, and dynasties, and schemes of religion 
and philosophy have passed away ! But " the ivord of the 
Lord endures forever." 

Note. — It must be evident to the reader, that the state of the Hebrew 
text has been much improved by the labors of the Bux- 
torfs, Athias, Van der Hooght, Michaelis. Kennicott, De Necessity of a 
Rossi, Halm, and I may add, through the instrumentality ^ h version 
and liberality of the Bagsters, of London, since our com- 
mon English version was made, in 1611: and also that since that same 

* Genuineness of the Gospels, p. 38 (American Edition). 

t Michaelis, vol. ii, p. 266. % Einleitung, 2 Th. S. 700. 

1] Gaussen on Inspiration, p. 169. 



negative 

suits. 



246 REASON AND REVELATION. 

important epoch, the Greek text has been still more improved by the 
joint labors of the Elzevirs, Walton, Fell, Mill, Bengel, Wetstein, Gries- 
bach, Matthaei, Birch, Schulz, Knapp, Tittmann, Scholz, Lachmann, Tesch- 
endorf, and Tregelles. And hence it seems to follow, as a matter of 
course, that our English version should also be brought up to the same 
standard. For though it is pleasant to know that thousands, we hope 
indeed millions, of our race have been saved through its instrumental- 
ity ; and that millions more may be still saved by it ; that it in fact 
contains every thing that is essential to life and godliness; yet it seems 
but reasonable, that the whole Anglo-Saxon family should have a ver- 
sion of the Holy Scriptures approximating as near as possible to the 
authentic text of the original Greek and Hebrew; and also in perfect 
harmony with the present improved state of our own vernacular. We 
do not want a New Version. We simply want a thorough and judicious 
revision of that which we now have. Much of the Old version can never be 
improved : and this, of course, should never be changed. It is not a small 
matter to deprive us of even a single word, or sentence, or paragraph 
which is now embalmed in the religious literature of the whole Anglo- 
Saxon family, as well as in the hearts and memories of living millions. 
But there can be no reasonable apology for retaining known errors of 
any kind, in a book, which above all others should serve to develop, 
and mold, and discipline the understanding, and the affections, and the 
will of a race, which, under God, must continue to have a powerful in- 
fluence over the civilization, and liberties, and destiny of the rest of 
mankind. 



PART FOURTH. 



INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



The fourth province of Reason within the domain of 
Divine Revelation, is to decide on the Inspira- Fourth P rov- 
tion of the Holy Scriptures. ince of Reason. 

That the Bible is of Divine origin ; that its sixty-six 
books were all written and often indorsed by Points a h. e ady 
inspired men ; and that they have suffered no proved - 
material change during the lapse of intervening centuries, 
has, I hope, been proved to the entire satisfaction of every 
candid reader. And if so, this goes very far toward prov- 
ing also the plenary inspiration of these sacred writings. 
For it is certainly very unreasonable to suppose Their bearing 
that God would supernaturally qualify a few ° n the t . Q ! ies_ . 

i J i J tion ot Inspi- 

uien to receive the truth, and then leave them ration. 

to communicate this truth to others, simply by means of 

their own natural and unassisted faculties. 

But as this is a subject of paramount importance, involv- 
ing many questions of great practical value to Eeason for 
every student of the Bible, I have thought it considering it 

, _ _ . separately. 

best to devote a lew separate chapters to its 

special consideration. In doing so, I will as- ^ h f* aB8umed 

L o / m the chscus- 

sume only the general historical truthfulness of sum. 

(247) 



248 REASON AND REVELATION. 

these books. This much has certainly been proved beyond 
all reasonable doubt. And hence it is perfectly legitimate 
to use the testimony of the original witnesses in settling this 
controversy. This, I will endeavor to do without prejudice 
and partiality in the following chapters. 



CHAPTER I. 

INSPIRATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
T . t . . That the Old Testament was all given and 

Inspiration of o 

the old Testa- written by and through the inspiration of the 

ment proved: TT , . . , , 

Holy opint may be proved, 
First b old ^* ^ ^ ie testimony of the writers themselves. 

Testament This is very clearly implied in such passages as 

the following : 

1. I will raise them up a prophet from among their breth- 
Ev dence from ren > like unto thee, and I will put my words in 
Deuteronomy. ]-^ s mon th ; and he shall speak unto them all 
that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that 
whosoever will not hearken unto my toords which he shall 
speak in my name, I will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 
xviii: 18, 19.) 

2. And Joshua said unto the people, Thus saith the Lord 

God of Israel , Your fathers dwelt on the other 
side of the river (Euphrates) in old time, even 

Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. 

(Joshua xxiv : 2.) 

3. Now these are the last words of David. David, the 

son of Jesse, said, And the man who was raised 

Samuel. ; ? 

up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, 



Chronicles. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE 249 

and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the Lord 
spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. (2 Samuel 
xxiii : 1, 2.) 

4. But the word of the Lord came unto Shemaiah, the man 
of God, saving : Speak unto Rehoboam the son 

of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the 
house of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the remnant of 
the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, ye shall not 
go up nor fight against your brethren, the children of Israel. 
(1 Kings xii: 22-24.) 

5. And it came to pass the same night that the word of the 
Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David 
my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not 
build me a house to dwell in. (1 Chronicles xvii : 3, 4.) 

6. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw 
concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days 

of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings 

of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the 

Lord hath spoken. (Isaiah i: 1, 2.) 

7. But the icord of the Lord teas unto them precept upon 
precept ; precept upon precept ; line upon line ; line upon line; 
here a little, and there a little: that they might go and fall 
backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Where- 
fore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men that rule this 
people which is in Jerusalem. (Isaiah xxviii : 13, 14.) 

8. Who is a wise man that may understand this? and 
who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath 

spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land 

perisheth, and is burned up like a wilderness, that none 

passeth through? (Jeremiah ix: 12.) 

9. Hear ye the word which the Lord speaheth unto you, 
house of Lsrael. Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of 
the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven ; fcr 
the heathen are dismaved at them. (Jeremiah x : 1,2.) 



250 REASON AND REVELATION. 

10. Hear ye and give ear : for the Lord hath spoken. (Jer- 
emiah xiii: 15.) 

11. And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of 
Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus saith the Lord 
of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring evil upon 
this place ; the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tin- 
gle. (Jeremiah xix : 3.) 

12. The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the 

priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chal- 

Ezekiel. ii ^ 

deans, by the river Chebar ; and the hand of the 
Lord was there upjon him. (Ezekiel i : 3.) 

13. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto 
the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 
Moreover he said unto me, Son of Man, all my words that I 
shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thy 
ears. And go, get thee unto them of the captivity, unto the 
children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, 
Tints saith the Lord God; whether they will hear or whether 
they will forbear. (Ezekiel iii : 4, 10, 11.) 

14. The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son 
of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, 
and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days 

of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. (Hosea i: 1.) 
15. The ivord, of the Lord that came to Joel the 
sonofPetuel. (Joeli: 1.) 

16. Hear this word that the Lord hath sjjoken against you, 

O children of Israel, against the whole family 

Amos. 7 & J 

which I brought up from the land of Egypt, 

saying : You only have I known of all the families of the 

earth; therefore I will punish you for your iniquities. 

(Amos iii: 1, 2.) 

17. The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God con- 
Obadiah. cerning Edom: We have heard a rumor from 



Jonah. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 251 

the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen. 
(Obadiah i: 1.) 

18. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of 
Amittai, saying : Arise, go up to Nineveh, that 
great city, and cry against it ; for their wicked- 
ness is come up before me. (Jonah i: 1, 2.) 

19. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second 
time, saying: Arise, go into Nineveh, that great city, and 
preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. (Jonah iii : 1, 2.) 

20. The word of the Lord, that came to Micah the Moras- 
thite, in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Heze- 

Micah. 

kiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning 
Samaria and Jerusalem. (Micah i: 1.) 

21. But they shall sit every man under his vine and un- 
der his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the 
mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it. (Micah iv : 4.) 

22. The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the 
son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of 

Zephaniah. 

Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of 

Josiah, the son of Anion, king of Judah. (Zephaniah i : 1.) 

23. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth 
month, in the first day of the month, came the 

. Haggai. 

word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, unto 
Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to 
Joshua the son of Josedeck, the High-Priest, saying : Thus 
speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, This people say, The time 
is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. 
Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, say- 
ing : Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, 
and this house to lie w T aste. (Haggai i : 1-4.) 

24. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, 
came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah the 

' Zechariah. 

son oi Barachia, the son of Iddo, the prophet, 

saying: The Lord hath been sore displeased with your 



252 REASON AND REVELATION. 

fathers. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of 
Hosts: Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will 
turn unto you saith the Lord of Hosts. (Zechariah i : 1-3.) 

25. The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Mala- 

chi. I have loved you, saith the Lord : yet ye 

Malachi. • i i n 

say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not 
Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacub, 
and I hated Esau. (Malachi i : 1, 2.) 

26. Remember ye the Law of Moses my servant, which I 
commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes 
and judgments. (Malachi iv : 4.) 

See also Exodus iv: 3; vii:l; Numbers xxii: 35; xxiii: 
5; Isaiah viii: 11; Jeremiah xvii : 20; xxix : 1-8; xxx: 4; 
1:1; li : 12 ; Daniel viii : 27 ; x ; 8, 27 ; Nahum i : 1 ; Hab- 
akkuk i : 1 ; Haggai ii : 1 ; Zechariah viii : 1-23, et cetera. 

Erom this induction of particulars, which might be 

] . greatly extended, it is evident that the prophets 

from oia Testa- all claimed to be inspired: and that their office 

ment evidence. , , 

was simply to communicate to others the words 
and instructions of God, whether they themselves understood 
them or not. But all the Old Testament is prophecy : and 
hence it is all inspired.* 

*In common English parlance, the word prophet is now generally used 
to denote one who predicts or foretells. But this is not in 
functions of harmony with either Hebrew or Greek usage. The Hebrew 
the Prophetic word commonly used for prophet is x , ^3 from to J to boil 
up like a fountain: and hence signifies anyone who speaks 
under a Divine influence. And it therefore always implied, among the 
Hebrews, that the words spoken were not the words of the prophet, but 
of God. They might convey instruction of any kind and on any subject; 
and it might relate to either the past, the present, or the future. And 
hence the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings were all called 
Prophets or Prophecies by the Jews; as well as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Eze- 
kiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The word run Seer, from 
rnn to see, was also frequently used to denote the same class of persons. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 253 

II. The inspiration of the Old Testament may also be 
proved from the evidence furnished by the writ- inspiration of 
ers of the New Testament. The following pas- the f 01d T( f, a " 

J ox men t proved by 

sages are deemed entirely sufficient for this New Testa- 
ment writers. 

purpose. 

1. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the 
Prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to ful- _ .. 

J- J 7 Evidence from 

fill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and the testimony 
earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise 
pass from the Law till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore 
shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach 
men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven : 
but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be 
called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew v : 17-19.) 
It is evident that by the Law and the Prophets, Christ 
here means the entire Old Testament : and it is just as evi- 
dent, that- it is here his intention to indorse the Divine ori- 
gin, the Divine authenticity, the Divine authority, and the 
Divine inspiration of even its most minute precepts and 
specifications. 

2. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye also to them: for this is the Law 
and the Prophets. (Matthew vii : 12.) 

Here the Law and the Prophets are referred to as con- 
taining an authoritative summary of the whole duty of man. 
This of course implies their Divine origin and inspiration. 

3. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 
(Matthew xi: 13.) 

The Greek word npo^nrnc is properly one who speaks for another; and 
especially one who speaks for a god, and interprets his will to man. 
Thus Apollo is called Trpognrnr Imr interpreter of Jupiter. (iEsch. Eum. 19 
and Virg. .En. iii: 2-32.) The Pythia was called the Trnoynrnc or Trpounvrig 
of Apollo. (Herod, viii : 36.) And in like manner, the ir pogrj-nc was the 
interpreter of the inspired pavric. (iEsch. Ag. 1099.) So also poets are 
called M.OVOUV -poor/rat, interpreters of the Muses. (Plato, Phoedr. 262, D.) 



254 REASON AND REVELATION. 

In this passage, the Law and the Prophets are again put 
for the entire Old Testament ; and are evidently represented 
as being the only divinely authorized interpreters of God's 
will, till the coming of John the Baptist. 

4. Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power 
of God. (Matthew xxii : 29.) 

The word Scriptures in this connection, as indeed also in 
most other places where it occurs in the New Testament, de- 
notes all the canonical books of the Old Testament.* And 
these are here evidently spoken of as a revelation of GooVs 
will and purposes concerning man. The error of the Saddu- 
cees was twofold : they understood neither the infinite power 
of God, nor his revealed will and purposes in relation to 
man's destiny. 

5. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And 
the second is like to it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy- 
self. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the 
Prophets. (Matthew xxii: 37-40.) 

6. What think ye of Christ ? whose son is he? They say 
unto him, The son of David. He said unto them, How then 
doth David in Spirit (or by the Spirit) call him Lord? say- 
ing: Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand 
till I make thy enemies thy footstool. (Matthew xxii : 42-44.) 

There is no attempt here to prove that David spoke the 
truth or that he uttered this sentiment under the influence 
of the Holy Spirit. This question was settled when the 
110th Psalm was placed in the Old Testament Canon, on 
the authority of inspired men. But the whole force of 
Christ's remark is evidently based on the following implied 
argument. All the books of the Old Testament Canon are 
the inspired words of God. The 110th Psalm is a part of 

* See Part Second, Chap. I, Sec. II, pp. 161-167. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 255 

this Canon. And hence it is inspired; and contains noth- 
ing but the truth. And hence it is evident, that in this one 
reference of our Saviour, the inspiration of the entire Old 
Testament is implied. And the same may be said of nearly 
every other allusion that Christ and his Apostles make to 
the Hebrew Scriptures. 

7. And his father Zacharias teas filled with the Holy Spirit, 
and prophesied, saying : Blessed be the Lord God 

of Israel ; for he hath visited and redeemed his 
people; and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in 
the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth 
of his holy prophets which have been since the world began. 
(Luke i: 67-70.) 

8. Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the 
Prophets; let them hear them. And he said: Xay, father 
Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they 
will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Jloses 
and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one 
rose from the dead. (Luke xvi: 29-31.) 

Here again, Jloses and the Prophets are used to denote all 
the writings of the Old Testament. And it is evidently 
Christ's intention to represent them as the divinely ap- 
pointed guide of life. 

9. Then said he unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to 
believe all that the Prophets have spoken ! Ought not Christ 
to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? 
And beginning at Jloses and all the Prophets, he expounded 
unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning him- 
self. (Luke xxiv: 2-3-27.) 

The word Projjhets in the first clause of this passage, seems 
to denote the entire Old Testament, including even the Pen- 
tateuch; as the word Scripjtures certainly does in the last 
clause. And both terms are here evidently used for the in- 
spired word of God. 



256 REASON AND REVELATION. 

10. And he said unto them. These are the words which 
I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things 
must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Hoses, and 
in the Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then 
opened he their understanding, that they might understand 
the Scriptures. (Luke xxiv : 44, 45.) 

The Law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms in 
the 44th verse, evidently comprehend the same writings as 
does the word Scriptures in the 45th verse: and they are 
each equivalent to the thirty-nine books of the Old Testa- 
ment. This much is manifest from the context. But whence 
the necessity that all things written in these books concern- 
ing Christ should be fulfilled? Concede that they contain 
nothing but the inspired words of God; and then all is plain. 
God is not a man that he should lie; nor is he the son of 
man that he should repent or change his purpose. His word 
must and will be fulfilled in all cases. But on any other 
hypothesis, can any one explain this necessity? Clearly, 
our Savior here fully indorses the Divine authority and 
inspiration of the entire Old Testament. 

11. Search the Scriptures: for in them ye think ye have 

eternal life : and thev are they which testify of 

John. 

me. (John v : 39.) 
In what Scriptures did the Jews think they had eternal 
life? Evidently in the same thirty-nine books that now 
compose the Canon of the Old Testament. But these were 
all witnesses for Christ. How so ? Evidently because they 
were all dictated by that Spirit which searches all things; 
yea even the deep counsels and purposes of Jehovah. Here 
then we have another proof, that in the jNew Testament the 
word Scripture or Scriptures means simply the inspired writ- 
ings: and, unless restricted by the context, it always com- 
prehends at least the thirty-nine books of the Old Testa- 
ment. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 257 

12. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your Law, 
I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom 
the word of God came, and the Scripture can not be broken ; 
say ye of Him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into 
the world, Thou blasphcmest ; because I said, I am the Son 
of God ? (John x : 34-36.) 

In this instance, as in Romans iii: 19, the word Law is 
manifestly used for the whole of the Old Testament : and so 
also is the word Scripture. But why can not the Old Testa- 
ment be broken '? If it were a work of mere human author- 
ity, this might easily be done. But if it is the inspired word 
of God, it is of course faultless, and sustained by all the au- 
thority that Heaven can give it. 

13. And he will send Jesus Christ who before was preached 
unto you; whom the heaven must receive, until 

the times of restitution of all things, which God 
hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy p?'ophets, since the 
world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet 
shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, 
like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall 
say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul who 
will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the 
people. Yea and all the Prophets from Samuel and those that 
follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of 
these days. (Acts iii : 20-24.) 

Here again the evidence of inspiration is clear and satis- 
factory. According to Peter, it was God that spoke through 
Moses and all the Prophets from Samuel to Malachi, con- 
cerning the coming, the sufferings, the resurrection, the reign 
and the triumphs of the Messiah. 

14. And when they had appointed him a day, there came 
many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and 
testified the Kingdom of God, persuading them concerning 
Jesus, both out of the Law of 3Ioses, and out of the Prophets, 

17 



258 REASON AND REVELATION. 

from morning till evening. And some believed the things 
which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they 
agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Panl 
had spoken one word: Well spake the Holy Spirit by Isaiah 
the. prophet unto our fathers, saying: Go unto this people and 
say, Hearing, ye shall hear; and shall not understand. (Acts 
xxviii: 23-26.) 
15. And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scrip- 
tures, which are able to make thee wise unto sal- 
Timothy. , 

vation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God; and is profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in right- 
eousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur- 
nished unto all good works. (2 Timothy iii: 15-17.) 

The word Scripture in this connection, evidently means at 
least the entire Old Testament. It may perhaps comprehend 
also, as in 2 Peter iii: 16, such portions of the New Testa- 
ment as were then written and in possession of the churches. 
But be this as it may, there can be no doubt that it includes, 
at least, as usual, the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. 
And as Paul here assures Timothy that they were all inspired, 
or given by inspiration of God, this of course puts an end to 
the whole controversy. 

I am aware that some critics have converted this compound 
into a complex proposition; and make it read as follows : "All 
Scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for doc- 
trine, for reproof, for correction/ 7 etc. But this is to reject 
from the inspired text the conjunction "and" (xac) ; a license 
which is wholly unwarranted. We are at liberty to supply 
whatever is clearly implied in the context. But we have no 
authority to reject any word used by an inspired writer. 

16. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture 
Peter came from private interpretation ; for the proph- 

ecy came not at any time by the will of man ; but 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 259 

holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy 
Spirit. (2 Peter i: 20-21.) 

The word Scripture is here evidently used in its ordinary 
New Testament sense, to denote all the books of the Old Tes- 
tament. But these books are all prophetic. And as Peter 
here assures us that all prophecy was given by and through 
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it follows that the entire 
Old Testament is the product of Divine inspiration. 

These evidences might be multiplied indefinitely. But it 
is not necessary. It is evident from what has conclusion 
already been given, that Christ, and Matthew, f,om N " ew Tes - 

' tament evi- 

and Luke, and John, and Peter, and Paul have deuce, 
all and severally indorsed the entire Old Testament as the 
inspired word of God. This of course is sufficient. Their 
testimony is to us, and to all others who believe in the Di- 
vine origin of the Bible, an end of all controversy.* 



CHAPTER II. 
INSPIRATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

That the Xew Testament is also the inspired word of 
God, may be proved, 

I. From the inspiration of the Old Testament. These 
two volumes are not separate and independent inspiration of 
works. They are together but the develop- Zul'Z^T 
ment and illustration of one great system. And filst - from its 

° • relation to the 

they are therefore so related, that they must oidTestament, 
both stand or fall together. Let it be proved, for instance, 

*The following additional references may be of service to those who 
desire to examine still further the testimony of Christ and his Apostles, 
touching the inspiration of the Old Testament. Matt, i: 22, 23; ii: -5, 6, 



260 REASON AND REVELATION. 

that the earth was created and adorned by Jehovah; and 
we need no tether proof that Mercury, and Venus, and 
Mars, and Jupiter, and Saturn, and Neptune, and indeed all 
other parts of the Solar system, are also the workmanship of 
the same infinitely glorious and perfect Being. And just so 
it is in reference to the Old and New Testaments. If it can 
be satisfactorily proved, that any considerable part of either 
of them is inspired, then indeed it follows of necessity, that 
they are both wholly inspired. But it has already been 
proved with all the certainty of moral demonstration, that 
the Old Testament was written by holy men of old as they 
were moved by the Holy Spirit; and hence it follows just 
as certainly, that the New Testament was also dictated by 
the self-same Spirit. 

II. The inspiration of the Neiv Testament is further proved 

u from ty ^ e l yrom ^ 8es °f Christ to his Apostles; that 

the Promises they and others should possess the miraculous 

gifts of the Holy Spirit. Such for instance are 

the following : 

1. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of 
wolves : be ye therefore wise as serpents, and 
harmless as doves. But beware of men: for 
they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will 
scourge you in their synagogues. And ye shall be brought 
before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony 
against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you 
up, take no thought hoio or what ye shall speak: for it shall 
be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it 
is not ye that speak; but the Spirit of your Father which 

15, and 23; iii: 3; iv: 4, 6, 7, and 10; viii: 17; xii: 17-21; xiii: 3-5; 
xix: 4-6; xxi: 1-5; Mark i: 2, 3; ii: 25, 26; iv: 12; x: 6-9; xiv : 49; 
xv : 28; Luke iii: 4; v: 14; John ii: 22; vii: 38; xiii: 18; xvii: 12; 
xix: 28; Acts i: 16, 20; ii: 16-21, and 25-31; vii: 35, 37; viii: 28, 32, 
33, 35 ; Romans i : 2 ; iii : 2, 19, 21 ; ix : 25-29 ; x : 19-21 ; xv : 4, 10, 11, 
12 • and the entire Epistle to the Hebrews. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 261 

speal-eth in you. (Matthew x: J 6-20. See also Mark xiii: 
11; and Luke xxi: 12-15.) 

2. I have yet many tilings to say unto you, but ye can 
not bear them now. Howbeit, when He, the 

Spirit of Truth is come, lie will guide you into all 
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he 
shall hear, thai shall he speak: and he will show you things 
to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, 
and show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are 
mine: therefore, said I, that he shall take of mine and show 
it unto you. (John xvi: 12-15. See also xiv: 15-18, and 
xvi: 7. 

3. For John truly baptized in water; but ye shall be bap- 
tized in the Holv Spirit not many days hence. 

* Acts. 

But ye shall receive power after that the Holy 
Spjirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, 
both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and 
unto the uttermost pjart of the earth. (Acts i: 5, 8.) 

4. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and 
preach the Gospel to every creature. He that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved : but he 

that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall 
follow them that believe. In my name they shall cast out de- 
mons ; they shcdl speak with new tongues; they shcdl take up 
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt 
them ; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shcdl recover. 
(Mark xvi: 15-18.) 

It is scarcely necessary to pause here with the view of 
proving, that these promises of supernatural aid The writings 
to the Apostles, had not reference merely to addles of the 
their verbal instructions and extemporaneous ^p° stl< 'f- em * 

1 braced in these 

addresses ; but also to all their ivritings, as the promises. 
appointed legislators and plenipotentiaries of the Kingdom 
of Heaven. The latter, indeed, are even more important 



262 REASON AND REVELATION. 

than the former. The effect of their addresses was tempo- 
rary : but the influence of their writings will endure forever. 
And hence it is chiefly through them that the Apostles still 
sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel:* 
and it is also in a measure through the same writings, that 
Christ will continue with the Apostles and with the Church 
over which they still preside, to the end of the world.f 

These promises then positively guarantee the inspiration 
_' . . of all parts of the New Testament, written by 

Conclusion ■*- ' J 

from these any of the Apostles; that is, of all its books, 

save the Memoirs of Luke and Mark. And the 
inspiration of even these, is, I think fairly implied, though 
not expressed in the aforesaid promises. This, however, falls 
more appropriately under our next proposition. 

III. The inspiration of the entire New Testament, may also 
Thirdly, from oe legitimately inferred from the miraculous gifts 
the gifts actu- ^hat were usually bestowed on the Apostles and 

ally bestowed ° ■ L 

on the Apostles others, for the conversion of the world, and the 
edification of the Church, until Christianity should 
be fully established; the Canon of the New Testament com- 
pleted ; and the evidence of its Divine authenticity perfected. 
That these gifts were actually bestowed on the 

Evidence of the ° J 

bestowment of Apostles and many of their fellow-laborers, is 

proved by the following passages : 

1. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they 

were all with one accord in one place. And 

suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of 

a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where 

they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven 

tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And 

they were all filled with the Holy Spirit; and began to speak 

with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 

ii: 1-4.) 

*Matt. xix: 28. t^att. xxviii: 20. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 263 

2. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and 
preached Christ unto them. And the people with one ac- 
cord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hear- 
ing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits 
came out of many that icere possessed with them; and many 
taken icith palsies and that were lame were healed. And there 
was great joy in that city. (Acts viii: 5-8.) 

3. Now when the Apostles who were at Jerusalem, heard 
that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto 
them Peter and John. Who when they were come down, 
prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit : 
for as yet he had fallen upon none of them ; only they were 
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they 
their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit* 
(Acts viii: 14-17.) 

4. \Vhile Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit 
fell on all them who heard the word. And they of the cir- 
cumcision were astonished, as many as came with Peter : be- 
cause that on the Gentiles also was poured out the the gift of 
the Holy Spirit. For they heard them speak with tongues, and 
magnify God. 

5. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given From 1 Corin . 
to every man to profit withal. For to one is thiaus - 
given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another, the word 

*That this was the miraculous and not the ordinary gift of the Holy 
Spirit promised to all Christians, seems clear for the following rea- 
sons: 

1. It was evidently attended with some outward and -visible manifes- 
tations of power such as occurred on the day of Pentecost. For in the 
following verse it is said that Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given 
through the laying on of the Apostles' hands. 

2. The ordinary gift of the Holy Spirit is received by every true be- 
liever, immediately after his baptism. (See Acts ii: 38.) 

3. It was manifestly something that even Philip the Evangelist had 
not the power to bestow. And hence the necessity that Peter and John 
should come down to Samaria for this purpose. 



264 REASON AND REVELATION. 

of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another, faith by the same 
Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to 
another, the working of miracles ; to another, prophecy ; to an- 
other, discerning of spirits ; to another, divers kinds of tongues; 
to another, the interpretation of tongues. But all these work- 
eth that one and the self -same Spirit, dividing to every man 
severally as he will, (1 Corinthians xii : 7-11.) 

inference from From tliese and man y otlier similar passages, 
the .lata tims it appears that miraculous gifts were actually 

furnished. .. iiaii 

bestowed on the Apostles and many others for 
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, 
for the edifying of the body of Christ, till they should all 
come into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the 
stature of the fullness of Christ.* And this of course fur- 
nishes another guarantee not only that the Apostles were 
inspired, but also that Mark and Luke wrote their Memoirs 
of Christ and his Apostles, as they were moved by the Holy 
Spirit. For — 

1. God is a God of order ; and bestows his gifts when and 
where and as they are needed. But if it was necessary to 
confer spiritual gifts on many members of the same congre- 
gation, as was certainly done in the church of Corinth, how 
much more was it necessary to bestow them liberally on such 
men as Timothy, Titus, Barnabas, Silas, Judas, Philip, Mark, 
Luke, and other Evangelists who were required to assist the 
Apostles, not only in setting the churches in order, but also 
in preaching the Gospel to the heathen. 

2. These gifts were actually bestowed on Timothy, f Bar- 
nabas, % Philip, 1 1 Silas, and Judas. § "Why then should 
Mark and Luke be regarded and treated as exceptions? 

3. Because these Memoirs were currently circulated among 

*Epkesians iv: 12,13. JActsxiii: 1. gActsxv: 32. 

|2 Timothy i: 6. || Acts viii : 6. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 265 

the brethren, and of course subject to be approved or disap- 
proved by the Apostles or other inspired men, long before 
the gifts of inspiration ceased in the churches. But, never- 
theless, they were from the beginning received by all, as 
canonical and authentic books. And hence it follows, that 
they must have been inspired. 

IV. The inspiration of the New Testament Fonr a lhj , from 
may also be proved from the direct testimony of fche direc * *? tt " 

«/ x t/ <J *) moiiy of New 

its own inspired writers. The evidence arising Testament 
from this source is, of course, wholly incidental. 
The Apostles were generally known and recognized by those 
to whom they wrote, as inspired men. And hence, except 
in a few extraordinary cases, it was not at all necessary that 
they should attempt to prove either their own inspiration or 
the inspiration of their writings. But the following inci- 
dental remarks will greatly serve to corroborate and strength - 
en the evidence already submitted. 

1. I say the truth in Christ. I lie not, my Testimony of 
conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Paul - 
Spirit, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in 
my heart, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the 
flesh. (Romans ix : 1-3.) 

2. And my discourse and my preaching were not arrayed 
in winning words of wisdom, but in display of Spirit and 
might: that your belief might not be brought about by man's 
wisdom^ but by might of God. Wisdom, however, we speak 
among the full grown ; not, however, a wisdom of this age, 
nor of the rulers of this age, that are to come to nought; but 
we do speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, 
which God fore-appointed before the ages for our glory : which 
not one of the rulers of this age has come to know; for had 
they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of 
glory. But we speak — as it is written — things that eye saw 
not, and ear heard not, and that entered not into man's heart; 



266 REASON AND REVELATION. 



that God made ready for those that love him. But to 
us did God reveal them through his Spirit: for the Spirit 
searches out all things, even the depths of God. For who 
of mankind knows the things of the man, but the spirit of 
the man which is in him ? So too the things of God, has no 
one come to know, but the Spirit of God. We, however, 
did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is 
from God, that we may know the things vouchsafed to us by 
God: which things we also speak, not in words taught of 
man's wisdom, but taught of Spirit, expounding spiritual things 
by spiritual means. But a natural man accepts not the things 
of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he 
is not able to learn them, because they are spiritually scanned. 
But the spiritual man scans them all; while he himself is 
scanned by no one. For who learned the Lord's mind that 
he should instruct him? But toe have Christ's mind.* (1 
Corinthians ii : 4-16.) 

In this passage, Paul includes with himself the other 
Apostles and all Evangelists, pastors, and teachers who were 
endowed with the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. 
And with respect to them all, he assures us, that even in 
their choice and use of words, they were under the influence 
and guidance of that Spirit which searches all things, yea 
even the deep counsels and purposes of Jehovah. His testi- 
mony is therefore really conclusive on the whole matter ; and 
further evidence would seem to be wholly superfluous. But 
on a subject of so much importance, it is well to have line 
upon line, and precept upon precept. And I will therefore 
presume on the indulgence of the reader, while I merely 

*I quote here from the very literal translation of Thomas Sheldon 
Green. Dr. James Macknight translates the thirteenth verse as fol- 
lows: " Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom ; but 
in words taught by the Holy Spirit; explaining spiritual things in spiritual 
words." 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 267 

present, without note or comment, a few more extracts from 
these sacred writings. 

3. If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual 
man, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you 
arc the commandments of the Lord. But if any one be igno- 
rant, let him be ignorant. (1 Corinthians xiv : 37.) 

4. But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was 
preached by me, is not after man. For I neither received it 
of man; neither xoas I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus 
Christ. (Galatiansi: 11, 12.) 

5. Ye are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and 
Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. 
(Ephesians ii : 20.) 

6. For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for 
you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the 
grace of God which is given me to you-ward : how thed by 
revelation he made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore 
in few words; whereby, when ye read, ye may understand 
my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages, 
was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now re- 
vealed unto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit; that 
the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, 
and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel : whereof 
I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of 
God, given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 
(Ephesians iii: 1-7.) 

7. For this cause also we thank God without ceasing, be- 
cause when ye received tlic word of God ivhich ye heard from 
us, ye received it not as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) 
the word of God, which effectually worketh in you that be- 
lieve. (1 Thessalonians ii : 13.) 

8. For ye know whed commandments ice gave you by the 
Lord Jesus. For this we say unto you by the word of the 
Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of 



268 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the Lord, shall not anticipate them that are asleep. (1 Thes- 
saloniansiv: 2-15.) 

9. Of which salvation, the Prophets did inquire and 
Testimony of search diligently, who prophesied of the grace 
Peter. faofc s h ou l c j come unto you : searching what, or 
what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ that teas in them 
did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ 
and the glory that shoidd follow. Unto whom it ivas revecded, 
that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the 
things which are now reported unto you by them that have 
preached the Gospel unto you, with the Holy Spirit sent down 
from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 
(1 Peter i: 10-12.) 

10. This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; 
in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of re- 
membrance : that ye may be mindful of the words which were 
spoken before by the holy Prophets, and of the commandment 
of us the Apostles of the Lord and Savior. (2 Peter iii : 1, 2.) 

11. This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus 
Testimony of Christ ; not by water only, but by water and 
John - blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, 
because the Spirit is truth. If ye receive the witness of men, 
the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God, 
which he hath testified of his Son. (1 John v: 6-9.) 

12. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto 
him to show unto his servants things which must shortly 
come to pass : and he sent and signified it by his angel unto 
his servant John. I was in the Spirit, on the Lord's Day, 
and I heard behind me a great voice of a trumpet, saying : I 
am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last: and what 
thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches 
which are in Asia: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and 
unto Pergamus, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto 
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. (Revelation i : 1, 10, 11.) 



INSriRATION OF THE BIBLE 269 

13. Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesns write : 
These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in his right 
hand; who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candle- 
sticks. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit 
saith unto the Churches. (Revelation ii: 1, 7.) See also each 
of the following letters, addressed to the other six churches. 

14. And he said unto me, These sayings are true and faith- 
ful. And the Lord God of the holy Prophets sent his angel 
to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. 
Behold I come quickly : blessed is he that keepeth the sayings 
of the prophecy of this book. For I testify unto every man 
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, that if 
any man add unto these things, God will add unto him the 
'plagues that are written in this book. And if any man will 
take away from the toords of the book of this prophecy, God 
will take away his part out of the Book of life, and out of the 
Holy City, and from the things which are written in this book. 
(Revelation xxii: 6, 7, 18, 19.) 

Any attempt to explain and to apply this evidence, is, I 
think, wholly unnecessary. Every thoughtful 

•n i.i • • n Conclusion. 

reader will readily perceive, that m each of the 
preceding extracts, there is at least a clearly implied claim 
to Divine inspiration: and in some of them this claim in 
categorically asserted. Even in the last quotation from the 
Apocalypse, there is a distinction as broad as the heavens, 
made between that book and all writings of mere human au- 
thority. And hence it follows logically, according to all just 
laws of evidence, that no part of the New Testament is of 
human invention; but that it was all dictated through the 
inspired Apostles and Prophets of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of the Living God. 



270 REASON AND REVELATION. 



CHAPTER III. 

THEORIES OE INSPIRATION. 

SECTION I. — False Theories of Inspiration". 

That the entire Bible, consisting of the thirty-nine canon- 
The fact of Di- ical books of the Old Testament and the twen- 
Tine inspira- t y-seven books of the New Testament, is the 

tion is now a J 7 

settled ques- inspired word of God, has, I think, been clearly 
and satisfactorily proved by the evidence al- 
ready submitted : and henceforth we will therefore consider 
this as an established fact. And if all persons would be sat- 
isfied with this result, and simply receive the written word, 
as they would receive the living and audible voice of Je- 
hovah from the top of Sinai or from the depths of heaven 
itself, any further discussion of the subject would be wholly 
unnecessary. 

But just here lies the difficulty. Constituted as we now 
Necessity of are, men will reason and philosophize and spec- 
theory on tiite ulate on this, as they are wont to do on other sub- 
subject, jects: some for one purpose, and some for an- 
other ; some running to one extreme, and some to that which 
is the directly opposite. And hence the necessity of having, 
if possible, a correct theory of inspiration, as far at least as 
human reason is capable of comprehending the subject. 
But first of all it may be well to notice briefly some of 
the false theories of inspiration. These are very 

False theories. x 

numerous and various. But perhaps the most 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 271 

prominent and important of them may all be regarded as 
species or modifications of some one of the three following: 

I. The first of these is commonly called the Mechanical 
Theory of Inspiration. According to this theory, Mechanical 
the writers of the Bible were all the mere pas- Theory of in- 

n , TT , c< ' • i spiration. 

sive instruments or penmen ot the Holy bpmt : 

or, at any rate, they did nothing more than act as the mere 

amanuenses of the Spirit. They are supposed to have merely 

recorded the words and ideas of the Spirit just as Tertius 

recorded the words and ideas of Paul in his Epistle to the 

Romans. 

II. Xext in order is the Theory of Natural Inspiration, 
This admits of a great many different grades Theorv f Nat 
and shades of meaning. Some make it consist nrai inspira- 
wholly in the natural influence of the subject on 

the powers and susceptibilities of the human mind: while 
others concede that it includes also some degree of providen- 
tial influence. But all of this school seem to think that the 
inspiration of Isaiah differs but little from that of Homer ; 
and that the inspiration of Paul was essentially the same in 
kind, as that of Demosthenes. 

III. Others again attempt to occupy medium ground on 
this subject. They concede that the thoughts m , 

J J te Theory of Noe- 

w T ere all suggested by the Holy Spirit; but they maticai inspi- 
insist that, in all cases, the writers were left to 
express their thoughts in words of their own choice. This 
for the sake of distinction may be called the Noematical The- 
ory of Inspiration* 

It is obvious therefore that Reason has something to do 
in the settlement of this question. And first of First office of 
all, it belongs to her to decide on the proper cri- Reason in [ ela * 

' o x x tion to such 

teria by means of which every theory should be matters. 

* From vooc the mind ; voto to exercise the mind ; votj^a a thought ; and 
hence the noematical, pertaining to the thoughts. 



Illustration. 



272 REASON AND REVELATION. 

tested. This she has already done in many other cases. In 
Proper test of every department of science it is now a settled 
every theory. ru l e , that if a proposed theory serves to explain 
all the facts and phenomena involved in the case, it should be 
accepted as true and valid: but if not, that it should then be 
rejected. On this principle, the Newtonian or Corpuscular 
Theory of Light, was finally abandoned. It very 
beautifully accounts for most of the phenomena 
of optics. But because it fails to explain a few of them, it 
is now rejected by most Natural Philosophers. And for the 
same reason, they also reject the Franklin Theory of Elec- 
tricity. 

If, then, we accept this rule as a means of testing the afore- 
said theories of inspiration, it is very obvious that they must 
all be rejected as false and inadequate. For, 

1. The Mechanical Theory fails to account for the human 
Defects of the element that is so very prominent in all the 
Theory of in- sacred writings of both the Old and the ]S"ew 
spiration. Testament. If the inspired writers were but 

the mere penmen of the Holy Spirit, then indeed we might 
expect to find in the Bible, no other varieties and diversities 
of style, than such as would naturally arise out of the various 
subjects discussed. The style of Job would in all respects 
be the style of David, and Isaiah; and the four narratives 
of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, would all be character- 
ized by the same modes of thought and style of expression. 
But every attentive reader of the Scriptures, knows very well 
that this is not the case. Diversity of style is a marked and 
well-defined characteristic of all the Old and Xew Testament 
writers. The style of Moses differs as much from that of 
Isaiah or Paul, as the style of Plato differs from that of 
Homer or Demosthenes. And hence we are constrained to 
reject as false, every theory of inspiration which does not 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 273 

recognize human agency in every book and chapter of the 
Holy Bible. 

2. The Theory of Natural Inspiration is even more absurd 
and unsatisfactory than the Mechanical Theory. Defects of the 
It utterly fails to account for those wonderful rev- uraTiLpira- " 
elections respecting God, the mystery of redemp- tion - 

tion, and the future history and destiny of mankind which 
abound throughout the whole Bible. And besides, it is wholly 
inconsistent with the promises of Christ to his Apostles, and 
the often-repeated declarations of the inspired writers. " It 
is not ye that speak," says Christ ; " but the Spirit of your 
Father which speaketh in you."* And David says, "The 
Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my 
tongue."f Such repeated declarations of both Old and New 
Testament writers are utterly inconsistent with every form 
and phase of the Theory of Natural Inspiration. 

3. Nor does the Noematical Theory meet and infects of the 
satisfy all the requirements of the case. It is evi- Noematical 
dently inconsistent, 

1.) With the promises of Christ to his Apostles. When 
he first sent them out as the advocates and defenders of the 
truth, he admonished them to take no thought, either as to 
the matter or the manner of their discourses ; to have no con- 
cern about either the thoughts or the words of their addresses. 
For, said he, both the zt and the ttcoz; both the matter and 
the manner of your arguments and your defenses, shall be 
given you in the same hour that they become necessary, by 
the Spirit of your Father.J 

(2.) It is inconsistent with the often-repeated declarations 
of the inspired Apostles and Prophets. Paul, for instance, 
assures us that he and his spiritual brethren did not speak 
the things of God in words taught by man's wisdom, but in 

* Matt, x : 20. 1 2 Samuel xxiii : 2. 

X Matt, x: 19, 20. 
18 



274 REASON AND REVELATION. 

ivords taught by the Holy Spirit ; expounding spiritual things 
by spiritual means or in spiritual words* 

(3.) It is further evident that the force of a whole propo- 
sition often depends on the use of a single word, or even on 
some modification of a word, which no human sagacity might 
be able to supply. In Matthew xxii : 32, for instance, Christ 
founds an important argument on the use of the present 
tense of the verb to be. " I am," said Jehovah, " the God 
of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." 
This, he argues, implies that Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob 
were still living when God spoke these words unto Moses, 
about one hundred and ninety-eight years after the so-called 
natural death of Jacob, and about three hundred and thirty- 
one years after the death of Abraham. Another very good 
illustration of this important fact, is found in Galatians iii : 
16, in the use of the word seed (anepua) in the singular 
number. 

(4.) The necessity of verbal as well as noematical inspira- 
tion is further evident from the fact that, the Prophets and 
Apostles often failed to comprehend fully the thoughts that 
were to be expressed. Like Moses in building the taber- 
nacle, they were constantly employed in setting up types and 
striking off documents, which they themselves did not and 
could not, at the time, fully understand. This is evident 
from many passages in both Testaments. Caiaphas, for 
instance, did not even apprehend the proper scope of the 
prophecy which he uttered concerning the death of Christ.f 
And that the Prophets and even the angels failed to com- 
prehend many of the Oracles of the Old Testament, is clearly 
taught by Peter in the following brief extract from his first 
epistle: "Of lohich salvation," says he, " the Prophets have 
inquired and searched diligently, ivho prophesied of the grace 
that should come unto you. Searching what or what manner 
*1 Cor. ii: 13. t John xi: 49-52. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 275 

of time, the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when 
it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory 
that should folloic. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto 
themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are 
now reported unto you, by them that have preached the Gospel 
iinto you ivith the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; which 
tilings the angels desired to look i?ifo."* It is therefore evi- 
dent that every theory of inspiration should be rejected as 
false and inadequate which does not recognize the agency of 
the Holy Spirit in every word as well as in every thought of 
the Holy Bible. 

What I have now said is perhaps sufficient to put the 
reader on his guard against all false theories of inspiration : 
and if so, we may now pass to the consideration of the true 
theory. But as preliminary to this, it may be well to give 
some explanation of the Natural, the Providential, and the 
Miraculous, in the Divine administration. This I will en- 
deavor to do in the following section. 

SECTION II. — Consideration of the Natural, the 
Providential, and the Miraculous in the Divine 
Administration. 

There are three elements in the Divine administration — 
three ways in which God's power is exercised The three ele . 
and manifested— with which every student of ments of God's 

•/ anministra- 

the Bible should be very familiar. These are tion. 
the Natural, the Providential, and the Miraculous. 

Of these the natural element lies most on the surface, and 
is therefore most obvious to our senses. It con- T 

In what the 

sists in those second causes which God has him- Natural Eie- 

, /. -, 11-111 i merit consists. 

sell created, and which he has made to operate 

according to certain fixed and well-defined laws. It con- 

»1 Peter i: 11, 12. 



276 REASON AND REVELATION. 

sists in the power which he has himself actually imparted 
to all created things for the good and government of all. 

Thus, for instance, he has made every atom of matter a 
Examples and depository of his power : so that all bodies now 
illustrations. actually attract and influence each other, directly 
as their quantities of matter, and inversely as the squares of 
their distances. The paper now before me puts forth an 
influence that actually reaches to every sun, and moon, and 
star, and comet in the vast empire of Jehovah. 

And hence it is evident, that all the powers of nature are 

but imparted powers. They are but the Divine 
nature are aii influence treasured up in the depositories of both 

mind and matter ; — of both the material and the 
immaterial, for the regulation, government, and harmony of 
the whole created universe. 

These powers and forces of nature have all been divinely 

estimated and adapted to each other. The 

They are also *- 

divinely esti- mountains were all weighed in scales and the 
hills in a balance. And the statics and dynam- 
ics of each and every planet, were all computed and pro- 
portioned according to the constitution and organization of 
its varied and respective tenantry. 

]STo doubt, then, these natural forces all occupy a very 
Their proper important place, and perform a very important 
theDivinVad- P ar t in the Divine administration. They are, 
ministration. ag fa Q mathematician would say, the constant 
quantities by means of which God brings about many a re- 
sult, and works out many a problem in his moral, as well 
as in his physical government. 

But in a complex government such as God exercises over 
Necessity of his immense universe, imparted power is not suf- 
imprpssed ficient. To meet successfully all the wants and 

power, as an 

element of contingencies of such an empire as Jehovah's, im- 

God's govern- . 

ment. pressed power, or some modifying and regulating 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 277 

force, is also indispensable. It is especially so in the moral 
and spiritual department of the Divine government j and in 
those physical operations that are most intimately connected 
with the moral. 

And hence it is, that the more abstract physical phenom- 
ena are always the most easily explained and ac- simplicity of 
counted for on purely philosophical principles : ^ e *£™ ly 
and that as we approach man, science becomes sciences. 
more and more complex and inexplicable. Suns, moons, and 
stars, for instance, all seem to move chiefly if not exclusively 
under the influence of imparted power or second causes. And 
in inert matter these causes are all fixed quantities : quanti- 
ties that can be easily and definitely estimated. And hence 
the skillful astronomer can easily estimate the exact number 
and character of all the eclipses and transits that will occur 
within any given period. 

But it is not so in the moral and spiritual department of 
the Divine government: nor in those links in „ , . 

° Complexity of 

the chain of causation that serve to connect the the moral and 

,.,.,, ,, •i»ii mixed sciences. 

physical with the moral ; the material with the 
immaterial. Here there is also of necessity the additional 
element of impressed power. Second causes are not sufficient. 
Their influence must often be increased, or diminished, or vari- 
ously modified, according to the object and purpose of Him who 
is himself the cause of all causes. 

Take, for example, the science of Meteorology. In it, we 
have the same imparted forces or second causes „, 

1 ^ Illustration 

operating from year to year. The earth is the 
same: its amount of water, and caloric, and 
electricity is the same ; its orbit and its revolutions are the 
same ; and its relations to the sun, and moon, and stars are 
very nearly the same, during each successive cycle. And 
reasoning therefore from second causes or imparted forces 
alone, we would of course be led to infer, that the resulting 



from Meteorol- 
ogy. 



278 REASON AND REVELATION. 

phenomena of each successive year, would be ever and invaria- 
bly the same : that during each and every return of the four 
seasons of the year, we would have the same amount of rain, 
and snow, and hail, and vapor, and cold, and heat, and storm, 
and tempest. But our experience gives us a very different 
result. It proves to us, that these phenomena are all very 
uncertain : and that it is really much easier to estimate all 
the eclipses that will occur within the next twelve months, 
than to determine, with certainty, the kind of weather that 
we will have within the next twelve days. 

To the mere Naturalist, this is, of course, wholly inexpli- 
cable. But to the Christian philosopher, it is 

Cause and rea- A x 7 

son of an these all plain and obvious. He sees in the benevo- 
lent designs and purposes of God, a reason for 
all these changes and variations. And he sees, moreover, in 
God's impressed power, a cause sufficient to produce them. 
His own Reason enlightened by Revelation, assures him that 
the same great and good Being who created the universe, 
continues to govern it: and that its successful administra- 
tion for the education of man, and the good of all, must of 
necessity often require the controlling and modifying influ- 
ence of Divine power variously exercised. Sometimes this 
may be done through the instrumentality of angels ; some- 
times, through good or bad men ; sometimes, through Satan 
and his angels ; sometimes, through the laws and ordinances 
of the irrational and inanimate creation; and sometimes 
through several or all of these agencies and instrumentalities 
combined : but in all cases God himself is the moving cause. 

Here, then, we have clearly defined the second or provi- 
Difference be- dential element of the Divine administration. 

tween the Nat- -r, • , " • /-^ t> • 7 vp • 

uraiandthe •" consists in Gods impressed or modifying 
Providential. power; as the natural element consists in his 
imparted power. It is therefore wholly distinct from the 
natural ; but nevertheless it always operates in, and by, and 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 279 

through that which is natural ; and according to the laws 
and forces of nature. 

And hence we see why it is, that to the superficial ob- 
server, the hand of God is never manifest in the The rroviden 

t . n t . . i i ., t tial liublc to be 

workings ot his providence. As it always op- mista ken for 
erates, in such cases, according to nature's laws, the Natural - 
and merely serves to give tone, and energy, and direction to 
the forces of nature, it is of course wholly invisible to the 
eye of sense. And to the unreflecting mind, the effect, in 
most cases, seems to be wholly natural; or owing entirely 
to the power and influence of second causes. 

The imprisonment of Joseph in Egypt, for example, 
seemed to be wholly and altogether natural. T11 t 

J n Illustration 

The partiality of his father very naturally ex- from the his- 
cited the jealousy of his brethren ; and this again 
naturally led them to sell him to the Ishmaelites, whose 
business it was to carry slaves and merchandise into Egypt. 
The great beauty and amiability of Joseph, in like manner, 
excited the lust of his mistress; and her disappointment 
naturally led her to complain to her husband, who in re- 
venge naturally cast Joseph into prison. And this again, 
as the narrative shows, very naturally prepared the way for 
his introduction to Pharaoh ; and for his promotion to the 
viceroyalty of Egypt. In all this, therefore, the naturalist 
sees and recognizes nothing more than the energy and op- 
eration of second causes. But the believer in Divine Reve- 
lation perceives in every link in this long chain of causation, 
the rational workings and operations of a special providence : 
and that too with special reference to the fulfillment of the 
several promises that God had made to Abraham concern- 
ing his posterity. 

Sometimes indeed the hand of God becomes illustration 
more manifest. In some cases the natural vail f ' rom t } xi '} lis ' 

tory ot Mor- 

or covering becomes so very transparent, that aecai 



280 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the hand of Providence is seen through it, working out re- 
sults that are otherwise wholly inexplicable. It would puz- 
zle a naturalist, for example, to explain by the mere energy 
and operation of second causes, the fall of Haman and the 
promotion of Mordecai.* How did it happen that the pur- 
pose of Ahasuerus was so suddenly changed in this critical 
case? Why did his sleep go from him; and why were the 
records of his empire required to be read in his presence? 
How did it happen, that the scribe turned to the very page 
that contained an account of the fidelity and loyalty of Mor- 
decai? Why was the king's mind then, and for the first 
time, so deeply impressed with a sense of gratitude to so 
humble a subject; and with a fixed purpose to promote him 
to honor and distinction ? And how did it happen that Ha- 
man was made the instrument of Mordecai's promotion, and 
the cause of his own dishonor and destruction ? 

Manifestly such events can be accounted for, only on the 
The only ra- hypothesis of a special Providence : only through 
explaining ° the agency of Him who has at his command all 
such events. -j-] ie p 0wers an( J resources of nature; and who 
can therefore, with the utmost facility, turn the hearts of 
kings as the rivers of water are turned, and cause all created 
things to work together for the good of his children. To 
Him be glory, and dominion, and power, and thanksgiving 
for ever and ever. Amen. 

To this twofold agency, the natural and the providential, 
may therefore be referred most, if not all, the 

When miracu- J ' ' 

lous power is events that are now occurring in at least this 
earthly province of the Divine government. 
God is the most exact and particular of all economists. He 
never uses superfluous means for the accomplishment of any 
purpose. If the natural is sufficient, he never uses the provi- 
dential : and if the natural and providential are sufficient, 
* See Esther vi and vii. 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 281 

he never uses the miraculous. But when these are not suffi- 
cient ; when the natural and the providential are both inad- 
equate to his ends and purposes — then, rising above all the 
laws, and forces, and formulae of nature, he simply effects by 
his own immediate and direct agency, whatever i n what it con- 
is his will and his purpose. This is what we sists - 
call the miraculous element of the Divine administration. 

Sometimes this miraculous power is exercised independ- 
ently of all the laws and forces of nature; some- Modea inw hich 
times in direct opposition to these laws and miraculous 

- 1 J- power is exer- 

forees; but most frequently it is put forth in cised. 
connection with them. 

An example of the first mode in which miraculous power 
is exercised, is seen in the primitive creation, miration of 
Previous to this, there were no second causes. the first modfi - 
God alone was, and nothing else beside him. And the first 
miracle therefore consisted in giving being and attributes to 
nature. God simply spoke, and it was done : he com- 
manded, and it stood fast. 

An illustration of the second mode of miraculous agency 
is given in the account that we have of the sep- _„ t .. 

o J- Illustrations of 

aration of the waters of the Red Sea ; and of the the second 

n » t .11 -i i mode. 

sun and moons standing still at the command 
of Joshua. The motion of the sun ten degrees backward, as 
indicated by the dial of Ahaz,* is also another very remark- 
able instance of miraculous power, exercised in opposition 
to the tremendous powers and forces of nature. 

But in most miraculous manifestations, the natural, the 
providential, and the miraculous are all united, nitration of 
And in such cases, the miraculous is but the thetliiiilmode - 
supplement of the natural and the providential. As, for in- 
stance, in the Noahic deluge. Here the forces of nature 
were evidently employed, so far as they could be made 

* Isaiah xxxviii: 8. 



282 REASON AND REVELATION. 

available by providential agency. The internal fires of the 
earth, served, in all probability, to elevate and break up the 
fountains of the great deep : and the forces of attraction and 
repulsion are still visible in every particle of drift that is 
now found on both hemispheres. But the same great, and 
good, and Almighty Being that gave new instincts to the 
saved animals, was evidently present through the entire 
scene, working both providentially and miraculously, as the 
circumstances of the case might require. He resolved to 
punish an ungodly world ; and to change, in some respects, 
the course and ordinances of nature; and it was done. 

How vast then and how various are the resources of the 
variet and Almighty! What folly it is to attempt to set 
extent of God's limits to his power ; or to prescribe the mode, 
by, and in, and through which it may and it 
must be exercised ! All the immense powers, and energies 
and resources of nature are evidently at his disposal. And 
when these are not sufficient, he has but to draw from the 
infinite depths and resources of his own Divinity, whatever 
is necessary for the accomplishment of his ends and pur- 
poses. 

Let it then be our wisdom to leave to God the ways, and 
in what man's means, and modes of his own operations ; and 
happinLrL- simply to use, with all possible diligence and 
6ist - prudence, the means of life and happiness with 

which he has so highly favored us. Let us remember, that 
God has given to us, no direct control over either the provi- 
dential or the miraculous. These are his prerogatives. But 
to us he has committed the natural, both physical and moral, 
so far as it is necessary in order to promote and to secure 
our present and eternal well-being. Let us not then be de- 
ceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows 
that shall he also reap. They that sow to the flesh, shall 
of the flesh reap corruption : but they that sow to the Spirit, 



INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 283 

shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. So God has de- 
creed : and so he will certainly bring it to pass. 



SECTION III.— The True Theory of Inspiration. 

From the premises now submitted, it will not be difficult 
to state in a few words the True Theory of In- statement of 
spiration, so far as the subject can be understood ory f inspira- 
by our finite reason. The following propositions tl0n- 
embrace all that it is really necessary we should understand 
on this very interesting but difficult subject. 

I. It is evident that the Holy Spirit exercised a very special 
providential and miraculous influence over both the _. , 

J- J Words and 

icords and the thoughts of the Old and New Testa- thoughts, both 
ment writers. The proof of this* proposition has 
already been stated with sufficient fullness. 

II. But as God never employs unnecessary means in any 
case ; as he never exercises his power providen- co-existen«&>* 
tiallv when existing natural means are adequate t J ie Divine and 

^ ° x - the human ele- 

to the end proposed;* nor miraculously when ments. 

* I would not presume to affirm dogmatically that any event in the Di- 
vine government occurs without the special providence 
of God. Certain it is that the hairs of our heads are all Extent of God's 
numbered ; that not a sparrow falls to the ground with- a „ eucy 
out the care of our Heavenly Father (Matt, x : 29-31) ; and 
that ever}- flower that adorns and beautifies our gardens and our land- 
scapes, is a proof and illustration of the special providence of Him who 
clothes the herbage of the field which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast 
into the oven for fuel. (Matt, vi : 30.) But as many of the celestial phe- 
nomena have been successfully brought within the fixed and definite 
limits of mathematical formulae; as eclipses and transits, for example, 
have been frequently and unerringly calculated, simply on the assumed 
ground of these imparted forces which science has so very definitely esti- 
mated ; it seems probable, that the planets ordinarily move solely and ex- 
clusively under the influence of natural causes. At all events, this much 
is evident from God's general administration, that in all his providential 



284 REASON AND REVELATION. 

natural and providential means are sufficient for his purpose, 
it follows in the second place, that in making the Bible what 
it ought to be, he used all the learning and talents of the several 
writers that composed it, so far as these natural means could be 
made available; just as he used the forces of nature in pro- 
ducing the Xoahic deluge, and as Christ used the five loaves 
and two fishes in feeding five thousand men. And hence we 
see that in one sense, every word and every thought of the 
entire Bible is of God ; and in another and subordinate sense, 
that every word and every thought of the Bible is also of 
man : and consequently, that the Divine and the human ele- 
ments coexist in all parts of the Sacred Scriptures. 

III. On the same principle of Divine economy, it also 
Different de- follows, that an equal degree of inspiration was 
grees of inspi- not always necessary in every case. To qualify 
Moses or Paul to reveal the future; or to de- 
velop either in type or in fact, the mysteries of redemption, 
would seem to require a much higher degree of Divine in- 
fluence than that which was necessary in order to enable him 
to record unerringly those facts that fell under his own im- 
mediate observation. 

In both cases, the miraculous aid of the Holy Spirit was 
indispensable. Without this, no man would have been able 
to decide infallibly what should, and what should not be re- 
corded ; what degree of prominence should be given to one 
event, and what to another. Who of us, for instance, if left 
to the guidance of our own erring reason, would ever think 
of recording the historical events and statistics of the books 
of Kings and Chronicles, in preference to the discourses, that 
Christ delivered to the two disciples, on his way to Emmaus 
on the day of his resurrection; or the discourse of Paul to 
which Luke merely refers in the last chapter of Acts? Mani- 

dealings with his creatures, he simply uses such means as are adequate 
to the end proposed. 



NSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 285 

festly, the miraculous influence of the Holy Spirit was ab- 
solutely necessary in all cases, and under all circumstances : 
but not, I think, in the same degree and to the same extent; 
if indeed we are at all competent to judge of such matters. 
Here, as in the ordinary affairs of life, human instrumentality 
seems to have been employed just so far as it could be used 
to advantage. But above and beyond all this, the Holy Spirit 
was ever present, exerting his miraculous power and influ- 
ence, so as to reveal the whole truth ; suppress every error ; 
and in a word, to make such a book as would, in every re- 
spect, be perfectly adapted to all the wants and circumstances 
of mankind. This much was absolutely necessary; and any 
thing more than this would have been superfluous. 

IV. And hence it follows, finally, that there are no real dis- 
crepancies, contradictions, nor errors of any kind 

- 1 - ? %i u ,| rea ( contra- 

il the original Scriptures. Barring the few re- dictions in the 

... . 1,1 ^ Bi We. 

maining unimportant mistakes that have been 
introduced into the Bible by uninspired transcribers, it is, 
like its Divine Author, infinitely perfect, and without even 
a blemish of any kind. 

" Most -wondrous book ! bright candle of the Lord I 
Star of eternity ! the only star 
By which the bark of man could navigate 
The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss 
Securely: only star which rose on Time, 
And on its dark and troubled billows, still, 
As generation, drifting swiftly by, 
Succeeded generation, threw a ray 
Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God, 
The everlasting hills, pointed the sinner's eye." 



PAET FIFTH 



SACRED HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 

SECTION I. — Fundamental Principles of Inter- 
pretation. 

Having proved that the Bible is the loord of God; that it 
Fifth Province is the pure word of God ; that it is the pure and 
of Reason. inspired word of God; the next question which 
claims our attention, and which requires and involves the 
exercise and authority of Reason, is that of its interpretation. 
How and by what rules is it to be interpreted ? — Is it to be 
explained grammatically, logically, and historically, as most 
other books of like antiquity ? Or, like some obscure enigma, 
is it to be interpreted by special rules, known only to the ini- 
tiated? 
Proof that the That the first of these hypotheses is true, 

Bible is to be •■.-. . -. . c -i j? n • • l 

interpreted as will appear evident from the following consid- 
other books. erations : 

I. If God has spoken to man at all. he must have spoken 
for the purpose and with the design of being understood. 
The contradictory of this proposition is a moral absurdity. 

II. But if God spoke to man with the design of being 
understood, he must, of course, have generally used words 

(286) 



HERMEXEUTTCS AND EXEGESIS. 287 

in their ordinary sense, or according to the usus loquendi of 
the persons addressed. For in no other way short of a mir- 
acle could he have conveyed to them his meaning. This is 
abundantly proved by our intercourse with all foreigners ; 
and especially by our foreign Diplomatic and Missionary op- 
erations, and the consequences that have resulted from not 
using words properly in translating the Scriptures into for- 
eign languages. 

III. But it does not follow, that every word, must be so 
used. Every department of science has its own _ 

J * Terms used in 

nomenclature; its own system of terminology; a special or iim- 
and its own list of appropriated words and 
phrases. Thus, for instance, in Mathematics, the word line 
signifies length without breadth or thickness; in the Military 
Art, it means a certain form of drawing up ships or troops ; 
in Geography, a certain division of the Earth ; and in the 
fisherman's dialect, it means simply a string to catch fish. 
And just so it is in the Holy Bible. It too has its Divine 
nomenclature. Many words are used in a special or appro- 
priated sense. Such, for example, are the words exxhjaea 
church, npeafluTepoQ elder, ocaxovo^ deacon, tuajyehazrjQ 
evangelist, anoaxoXo^ apostle, smaxoizoz overseer, aap% flesh, 
fjcurTUTfia immersion, dcxatooovT) justification, and naXqyeveaea 
regeneration. But most Bible terms are used according to 
the "usus loquendi" of the Greeks and Hebrews. And 
hence it follows, that every correct system of Bib- First Funda- 
lical interpretation is, in the main, identical ivith ^"^intei-prei 
every other correct system of interpretation ; and tation - 
that the Bible should be interpreted by the same general rules 
and principles as other books of like antiquity. 

But as the Original Scriptures are wholly from God, and 
of course perfectly consistent in all their parts, it follows as 
a second fundamental law and principle of in- second Funda- 
terpretation, that every part of the Sacred Word JU° a 



288 REASON AND REVELATION. 

should be interpreted in harmony with every other part; and 
that the Bible should in all cases be made its own chief inter- 
preter. 

SECTION II. — Nature and Scope of Biblical Exegesis. 

Before we proceed to consider further the rules and prin- 
„.«..., • ciples of Sacred Hermeneutics, I wish to intro- 

The Sixth ± J 

Province of duce just here, as briefly as I can, the Sixth Prov- 

Reason. . n ~r% • • • _., , 

ince oi Keason in matters pertaining to Divine 
Revelation. This is called Biblical Exegesis; and consists 
Relation of simply in the proper use and correct application of 
Exegesis to ^j ie aforesaid rides and principles. A true theory 

Hermeneutics; ^ * -* J 

and the proper or system is one thing; and its correct application 

scope of each. . 1 . „ 1 . 

to any practical purpose is a very different thing. 
It was one problem to discover the laws of universal gravi- 
tation; and it was quite a different problem to apply them 
to the practical explanation of celestial phenomena. The 
former was the work of Sir Isaac Newton; but the latter 
was reserved for La Place. And just so it is in the work of 
Biblical interpretation. The general laws and principles are 
first discovered and reduced to a science : and afterward they 
are practically applied in the art of explaining the Holy Bi- 
ble. The first of these is called Sacred Hermeneutics; and 
the second, as before said, is called Biblical Exegesis* In 
each of these departments, there is ample room for the full- 
est exercise of the most highly cultivated Reason. But they 
are very intimately blended together; and it will therefore 
be most convenient to consider them together in their proper 
connection. 

* Hermeneutics from ip-iijvevriKog, skillful in interpreting; epjuijvevg, an 
interpreter ; 'Ep^^c, Mercury, the interpreter of Jupiter. Exegesis from 
eiuiyrjoiQ, a leading or drawing out; efyyeofzcu, to lead or draw out. Hence 
Exegesis is simply the art of drawing or bringing out the full meaning 
of a passage. 



HERMEXEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 289 



SECTION III. — Inductive and Deductive Methods of 
Exegesis. 

First, then, let us briefly consider a few preliminaries with 
respect to the best order and mode of proceeding 

i • t-w • a -\tt-i i • • i Chemical mode 

in this Divine Art. When a chemist wishes to of ascertaining 
ascertain, with great accuracy, the several prop- composition, 
erties of any material substance, it is often best and P rt, P erties 

J 7 of any body. 

to begin with its elements, and to ascertain their 
several properties and affinities. From elements, he may 
proceed to the consideration of binaries ; and from binaries, 
to higher and more complex combinations, until he has as- 
certained the composition and properties of the whole mass. 
After this, he may, if need be, reverse the entire process. He 
may first resolve the mass into its most complex constituents : 
and these again into a still lower order; and so on, until he 
finally reaches the simplest atoms of which the body is com- 
posed. 

Just so, then, should the Bible student proceed with the 
study and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, 
or any portion of them. After ascertaining, as method of exe- 
far as possible, all the historical circumstances of 
time, place, authorship, etc., connected with the composition 
of any document, he should proceed with its exegesis as 
follows : 

I. He should begin with the consideration of the several 
words that compose the first sentence. The 

meaning of these, he should endeavor to ascer- 
tain from the best lexicons and other means at his command. 

II. He should if possible ascertain the meaning of the 
entire sentence, by carefully examining its syn- 

-, .... . n i Sentences. 

tax, and generalizing the meanings ot the sev- 
eral words that compose it. 

III. He should proceed in like manner with the several 

19 



290 SEASON AND REVELATION. 

clauses which immediately follow in the course of the com- 
position, and which in any way serve to develop 
and express the one fundamental thought first 
introduced by the writer. Whenever there is a change of 
thought, the first paragraph should be closed, and the sec- 
ond should be commenced. 

IV. He should endeavor to ascertain very clearly and 
D . , „ definitely, the main thought or design of the 

Special Scope. _ J ' & & 

writer in the first paragraph. This he can gen- 
erally do by examining its grammatical and logical construc- 
tion; and generalizing the meanings of the several sentences 
that compose it. This is called the Special Scope of the par- 
agraph. 

V. In like manner he should proceed with each and every 
succeeding paragraph; until this part of the work is com- 
pleted. 

VI. He should then notice from a careful review of all 
sections ^ ie P ara g ra P ns examined and their several scopes, 

the second order of breaks, or the next more im- 
portant changes of thought, that occur in the course of the 
treatise or narrative. And by carefully observing the nature 
of the union that subsists between the several paragraphs 
that compose each of these higher divisions, and generalizing 
their several scopes, the reader may generally ascertain with- 
out much difficulty the scope of each of these sections. 

VII. In like manner he should proceed from Sections to 
chapters, Chapters; from Chapters to Parts; and from 
Parts, etc. Parts to the whole Epistle, Book, or Volume. 
The last or highest generalization will give the main design 
of the writer ; or the object which he had in view in compos- 
ing the whole work. This is called the General 

General Scope. ° 

Scope. 
Deductive Xhis will finish the Inductive process. And 

Mothod of . r 

Exegesis. now the student may, it he please, reverse the 



Historical 
cumstances 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 291 

order, and reach the same ends deductively. For this pur- 
pose, he should 

I. Consider all the Historical Circumstances of the work : 
and especially such as relate to its author; to 
the party or parties addressed; and to the time, Cil 
place, and occasion of its composition. If, however, this rule 
was considered and applied with sufficient care, previous to 
the Inductive process, it may now be passed over. 

II. The student should next divide the entire work into 
its most Comprehensive Parts. This he will do, by _ L 

1 7 »' Parts. 

carefully noticing as before, the principal subjects 

of the book, epistle, or narrative, as the case may be. 

III. He should then subdivide the first Part, if nec- 
essary, into Chapters; and the first Chapters chapters, 
into Sections; and the first Sections into Para- Sections, 

7 Paragraphs. 

graphs. 

IV. Prom the special scope of the first paragraph and 
whatever other helps he may have at his com- sentences, 
niand, he should next proceed to ascertain the wordS) etc * 
meaning of all the sentences and words that compose it: 
noticing and considering very carefully all figures of speech; 
all allusions to any special laws and customs ; all parallel 
passages; and all references of any kind to other parts of 
Scripture. And in the same way he should proceed with 
every succeeding sentence and paragraph. 

The Inductive Method w r ill generally be found best for the 
inquirer and investigator ; and the Deductive for Proper place 
the advocate. The former is best suited to the *",.' °^ l ° n 
purposes of the Studio ; but the latter is gener- Method - 
ally best adapted to the objects of the Recitation Room and 
the Pulpit. Very frequently, however, it will be found best 
to combine both methods. 



292 REASON AND REVELATION. 



CHAPTER II. 

CONSIDERATION OF HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES. 

From the aforesaid preliminaries, let us now proceed to 
First fnnda- consider as briefly as the nature of the case and 
Biblical inter- the importance of the subject will permit, the 
pretation. fundamental Rules of Sacred Hermeneutics, and 

their application to the objects and purposes of Biblical Ex- 
egesis. And first of all, we are required to consider atten- 
tively the Historical Circumstances of the work or document 
to be interpreted. These are all briefly comprehended in the 
following mnemonic hexameter line, 

Quis, quid, ubi, quibus auziliis, cur, quomodo quando ; 
Summary of 

historical cir- which, in plain English prose, simply means, 

cumstances. 

Who, what, where, with what helps, why, how, when. 

To the consideration of these particulars, I therefore now 
invite the attention of the reader. 

I. Quis, who ? This may relate 
„ ,. 1. To the writer of the document. 

Parties repre- 
sented by the 2. To a speaker introduced in the course of the 

quis, or who. , . 

discussion or narrative. 

3. To the person or persons addressed. 

4. To the person or persons spoken of. 

The author of a book may be generally known either 
from external evidence, or from internal, or 

How to ascer- ' ' 

tain the au- from both. Thus, for instance, all the Christian 
fathers concede that Paul is the author of the 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 293 

Epistle to the Romans ; and besides, there is abundant evi- 
dence in the Epistle itself that it is one of his genuine epis- 
tles. And the same may be said of his two Epistles to the 
Corinthians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one 
to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philip- 
pians, one to the Colossians, one to Titus and one to Phile- 
mon. The authorship of the Epistle to the Iiebrews is not 
so well sustained by either kind of evidence. But Paul is 
now generally supposed to be its author. 

The names, and character, and circumstances of all the 
other parties involved in any document may Means of ascer- 
also be generally ascertained from the same two- cumsunces^of 
fold sources of evidence, the external and the other P arties - 
internal. As, for instance, in the testimony of Matthew : he 
generally informs us whether Christ's discourses were ad- 
dressed to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the 
Publicans, or to his own disciples. And the internal evi- 
dence thus furnished by the narrative is greatly strength- 
ened by the testimony of Josephus, Philo, and other writers, 
touching the character, opinions, and varied circumstances 
of these several parties. 

With respect to the importance of this rule but little need 
be said. It must be evident to every thought- i mportance of 
ful student of the Bible, that much, very much, thisrule - 
may depend on whether the speaker, or the writer, or the 
person spoken to, or the person spoken of, is a man, or an 
angel, or a demon : whether he is a natural man or a spirit- 
ual man ; and whether he is a Jew or a Gentile; a Pharisee 
or a Sadducee ; a Stoic or an Epicurean ; a disciple of Plato 
or a follower of Aristotle. How very different is Christ's 
discourse to Nicodemus from what it would T „ 

Illustrations. 

have been had it been addressed to a Gentile 
ruler or philosopher. How very unlike Paul's other epis- 
tles, is his letter to the Hebrews. And how very different 



294 REASON AND REVELATION. 

is the testimony of Matthew from that of Luke, though they 
were both evidently designed to prove the same general 
proposition that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. Indeed 
it is sometimes impossible to comprehend fully the force, 
and beauty, and propriety of a passage of Scripture, without 
a knowledge of the character, education, and prejudices of 
the parties spoken to or spoken of. Take, for instance, the 
following words, spoken by Jehovah to Cyrus king of Per- 
sia : " Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose 
right hand I have holden to subdue nations before him. I 
am the Lord, and there is none else : there is no God beside 
me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that 
they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the 
west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and 
there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness ; I 
make peace, and create evil : I the Lord do all these things."* 
The general meaning of this sublime and beautiful pas- 
sage is very plain. Even to one who knows nothing about 
Cyrus, it must be obvious that its general scope is to declare 
and set forth the absolute sovereignty of Jehovah. But how 
much does it add to the force and beauty of these remarks, 
to know that Cyrus was not only a heathen, but also a Dual- 
ist : that like most other Persians of that age, he was wont 
to worship Ormudz as the author of all light and goodness : 
and Ahriman as the author of all darkness and penal evil. 
And how much more significance is given to Paul's address 
at Athens, recorded in the seventeenth chapter of Acts, when 
it is understood that the Epicureans and Stoics, by whom 
he was chiefly encountered and opposed, were the uncom- 
promising advocates of chance and fatality : that the former 
derived all things from the mere fortuitous concourse of 
atoms; and the latter from an eternal and inexorable neces- 
sity over which even the gods had no control ! 
* Isaiah xlv: 1, 5, 6, 7. 



HERMEXEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 295 

II. Quid, what? The student of the Bible should next 
carefully consider the nature and character of Second cLtss of 
the part that is to be interpreted. Much may circumstances. 
depend on the question, whether it is poetry or prose, pro- 
phetic or didactic, devotional or argumentative, historical or 
simply a narrative of facts given in testimony. Every species 
of composition has some peculiarities of style 

1 *■ ^ Why their con- 

which should be carefully and duly considered federation is 
by the interpreter. Xo sane man would think 
of explaining the sublime odes of Isaiah, as he would the 
laws and ordinances of the Pentateuch, or the very logical 
and argumentative epistles of Saint Paul. Poetry, and es- 
pecially Hebrew poetry, abounds in figures of thought and 
figures of expression which would be wholly out of place in 
all historical, didactic, and argumentative prose. Take, for 
instance, the following address of Lamech to his two wives, 
Adah and Zillah : 

" Adah and Zillah, hear my voice ; 
Ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech. 

-^ T , , . p ... Illustration. 

h or 1 have slain a man lor wounding me ; 
A young man for hurting me. 
If Cain shall be avenged seven times, 
Certainly, Lamech seventy and seven times." 

If this speech of Lamech had been delivered and recorded 
in prose, it would be reasonable to infer that he had killed 
two men. But the characteristic parallelism * of Hebrew 

% Parallelism is the name given to a peculiar construction of sentences ; 
and is one of the chief characteristics of Hebrew poetry. 
It consists in a certain correspondence of one sentence p.^!",? 
with another, or one clause or phrase with another. Ac- 
cording to Bishop Lowth, there are three species of parallelism: the 
Synonymous, the Antithetic, and the Synthetic or Constructive. 

1. The Synonymous parallelism consists in the repetition of the same 

sentiment in different but equivalent terms; as — ^.^ i .. „ 

^ ' Different kinds 

Thou art snared by the words of thy mouth ; of Parallelism. 



296 REASON AND REVELATION. 

poetry does not warrant such an inference. Evidently the 
man who wounded Lamech and the young man who hurt 
him were one and the same person. 

Similar distinctions and differences abound in all other 
kinds of composition. But as it may be presumed that most 

Thou art caught by the words of thy mouth. (Prov. vi: 2. See Psalm 
cxiv; Isaiah lx: 1-3; and liii: 1-5.) 

2. The Antithetic parallelism is the converse of the Synonymous. In 
it one sentiment is opposed to another, forming a very regular and beau- 
tiful species of antithesis; as in the following example: 

If ye consent and obey, 

The good of the land shall ye eat ; 

But if ye refuse and rebel, 

By the sword, shall ye be eaten. (Isaiah i: 19, 20.) 

The book of Proverbs abounds in this species of parallelism. 

3. The Synthetic or Constructive parallelism is that species in which the 
correspondence of the sentences is maintained, by a further develop- 
ment of the main idea expressed in the first member. The following is 
a beautiful example of this species of parallelism: 

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul ; 

The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple ; 

The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; 

The commandment of Jehovah is clear, enlightening the eyes; 

The fear of Jehovah is pure, enduring forever ; 

The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether; 

More desirable than gold, or than much fine gold, 

And sweeter than honey, or the dropping of honey-combs. (Psalm 
xix: 7-1,) 

For other examples of this species of parallelism, see Job xii: 13-16 ; 
Psalm cxlviii : 7-13; Isaiah xiv: 4-9; and lviii : 5-8. 

To these three species of poetic parallelism, given and illustrated by 
Bishop Lowth, Bishop Jeb adds a fourth, which he calls Introverted par- 
allelism. In it the stanzas are so constructed, that whatever be the 
number of lines, the first will always be parallel with the last; the sec- 
ond with the last but one; and so on, as military men say, from flank to 
center; as in the following examples : 

My son, if thy heart be wise ; 
My heart also shall rejoice; 
Yea, my reins shall rejoice ; 

When thy lips speak right things. (Prov. xxiii: 15, 16.) 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 297 

of my readers are already aware of this, I will pass over the 
whole matter, with a single caution in reference to the nar- 
ratives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I Ne giect of 
find that most students of the Bible are prone chronological 

A order m t.lio 

to look upon these as regular histories or biog- Narratives of 
rapines of Jesus Christ : and they are often dis- Mark, Luke, 
appointed when they do not find in them a strict aml John ' 
regard for chronological order, or such as we have a right 
to expect in works that are professedly historical. But be 
it remembered that these narratives are not Jiistorics. They 
consist simply of facts given in evidence to prove that Jesus 
of Nazareth is the promised Messiah. " Ye shall receive 
power," said Jesus Christ to his Apostles, " after that the 
Holy Spirit is come upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses 
unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Sama- 
ria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth."* And as every 
witness has a right to give his testimony in whatever order 
he thinks best, sometimes following one law or principle of 
suggestion and sometimes another, no one has a right to 
charge these inspired writers with inconsistencies, discrep- 

The idols of the heathen are silver and gold ; 
The work of men's hands ; 

They have mouths, but they speak not ; 
They have eyes, but they see not; 
They have ears, but they bear not ; 
Neither is there any breath in their mouths; 
They who make them are like unto them ; 
So are all they who put their trust in them. (Psalm exxxv : 15-18.) 
Bishop Lowth gives three additional principal characteristics of He- 
brew poetry : 

1. The acrostical or alphabetical commencement of lines other pecuiiar- 
and stanzas ; itiea of Hebrew 

2. The introduction of rare and foreign words and par- poetiy - 
tides ; forming a sort of poetic dialect ; and, 

3. The frequent, and indeed almost constant occurrence of sententious, 
figurative, and sublime expressions. 

* Acts i : 8. 



298 REASON AND REVELATION. 

ancies, and contradictions, on the ground that they do not, 
like Xenophon, Tacitus, Hume, and Gibbon, follow in all 
cases the exact chronological order of events. 

III. Ubi, where? To know where a document was 
importance of written is sometimes of great service in its in- 
birth-pitce of terpretation. Words and phrases are subject to 
any document, geographical changes as well as to historical. 
The same words have not always the same meaning in New 
England and Old England : nor even in Ohio and Kentucky. 
And every student of literature knows that the many and 
marked distinctions between the Oriental and the Occidental 
styles have long been proverbial. The following brief ex- 
amples may be of service to illustrate some of these differ- 
ences. 

1. "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which 

the wind driveth away." (Psalm i: 4.) In Pal- 

Illustrations. . J x ' 

estine, the threshing-floors were not under cover, 
as they are with us in the West. They were fixed in the 
open air and on high places ; so that the chaff might be more 
effectually separated from the wheat by the action of the 
wind. 

2. "And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to 
go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter 
into the kingdom of God." (Matthew xix: 24.) The camel 
was the largest animal known in Palestine. And hence a 
camel's going through the eye of a needle was a proverbial 
expression among the Jews to denote an impossibility. But 
in the Chaldean proverb for the same thing, the word ele- 
phant is used instead of camel. 

These examples are sufficient to show that locality may 
Means ofascer- have a very great influence on the author's style, 
a a book S wI s ere figures, allusions, and illustrations: and hence 
written. - lt - g a i wavs we n to know, if possible, the birth- 

place of every document that is to be interpreted. When 



HERMEXEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 299 

this is not given by the author, it may be generally ascer- 
tained from a comparison of the events recorded in the 
work itself: otherwise we have to depend on external tes- 
timony. 

IV. Quibtjs auxiliis, with what HELrs ? Under this 
head are comprehended all the means, instrumen- cMicumstances 
talities, and other circumstances that conspired to i,1Llu ' 1( " 1 under 

1 the fuurth 

bring about any event. In the Noahic deluge, head, 
for instance, there was evidently a combination of miraculous, 
providential, and natural agencies. But the first i mpor tance of 
is wholly ignored bv modern Rationalists; and considering 

J ° J 7 these, lllus- 

hence they reject as altogether fanciful and ab- trated. 
surd, the idea of a universal deluge. On the same ground 
they deny the infallibility and paramount authority of the 
Holy Scriptures, and many other matters of vital impor- 
tance in the scheme and history of redemption. But with 
his knowledge of the means and resources of Jehovah, the 
Christian has no difficulty in receiving with all confidence 
whatever is recorded in the Living Oracles. Does the Holy 
Spirit say that manna was for a time rained down from heaven; 
that water flowed copiously from a flinty rock; that the Sun 
and the Mcon stood still at the command of Joshua ; that 
Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the 
great sea-monster; and that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
nego were unhurt by the lurid flames of Nebuchadnezzar's 
furnace; — the Christian believes it all with just as much 
confidence as he believes in the ordinary phenomena of na- 
ture. Even the resurrection of the dead is as credible as 
any other event, when we remember that it is to be brought 
about by the omnipotent power and energy of Him who in 
the beginning created the Heavens and the Earth. 

V. Cur, why? This comprises all the cir- ciassofcir- 

. l • l i cumstancea 

cumstanees that served to give being, shape, and comprehended 
character to the document under consideration. J^' 1 the fifth 



300 REASON AND REVELATION. 

They are therefore of great service in enabling us to under- 
First way of stand the general scope of a book, or the main 
^general 8 object that the writer had in view in composing 
«cope of any ^ ^jg ma y k e ascertained in several ways. 

book or docu- •> J 

ment. And, 

1. Sometimes it is given by the author himself; as in the 
following examples : 

(1.) Solomon says that his object in writing the Book 
of Proverbs was, to make known wisdom and 

Illustrations. . . -. . 1 

instruction ; and to cause others, and especially 
young men, to perceive the words of understanding. (Prov- 
erbs i : 1-6.) 

(2.) In writing the Book of Ecclesiastes, he avows it as 
his purpose, to inquire into the ways and means of happi- 
ness. 

(3.) In John xx : 31, the beloved disciple has recorded 
the object that he had in view in composing his whole nar- 
rative. He says, " These things are written that you may 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that 
believing you may have life through his name. 

(4.) Paul's object in writing his first letter to Timothy is 
given in the fifteenth verse of the third chapter, as follows : 
" These things," says he, " I write to you, hoping to come to 
you shortly : but if I delay, that you may know how you ought 
to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of 
the living God, the pillar and support of the truth." 

2. When the general scope is not given by the writer, it 

, a mav be generally ascertained by reading over the 

Second method J ° •> J & 

of ascertaining whole book, and noting, as far as practicable, the 
special scope of the several paragraphs, sections, 
and chapters of which it is composed. This, the reader may 
not in all cases be able to do to his entire satisfaction, with- 
out having first obtained a knowledge of the general scope, 
and such other helps as a further knowledge of Sacred Her- 



HERMENEUTTCS AND EXEGESIS. 301 

meneutics will bring to his aid. Bat lie can generally learn 
enough from the first and second reading to enable him to 
determine the general design and object of the writer. It is 
evident, for example, to every thoughtful and at- 

r ' J ° Illustration. 

tentive reader of the Book of Acts, that Luke's 
object in writing it was not to give a history of Peter, or of 
Paul, or of the whole Church, as some have hastily inferred; 
but simply to illustrate the fulfillment of Christ's promises, 
and to show us how the Apostles acted under the Great Com- 
mission, in converting the people and bringing them into con- 
gregations for their further instruction and discipline. 

3. The general scope of a book or document may often be 
learned from the occasion on which it was writ- _ . . .. . 

Third method. 

ten; as, for instance, 

(1.) We learn from sundry sources, that Jeremiah was sent 
to prophesv to the Jews when the cup of their 

. . Illustrations. 

iniquity was nearly full. And hence, as we might 

expect, we find that the general scope of his prophecies is a 

call and a warning to repentance. 

(2.) In like manner, the general scope of many of the 
Psalms may be inferred from the circumstances under which 
they were written. The third Psalm, for example, was com- 
posed by David when he fled from Jerusalem on account of 
the rebellion of his son Absalom. And hence we find that 
its general scope is David's distrust in man and his confi- 
dence in God. 

VI. Quomodo, how? Under this head or division, are 
embraced all the circumstances which served in circumstances 
any way to determine the mode of any event, or relatin e t0 tho 

J J j j mode or man- 

the manner in which it was brought about and nerofany 
accomplished. This chapter of circumstances is 
therefore very nearly allied to those that are embraced un- 
der the fourth. And for most practical purposes, it may be 
best to consider them all under one and the same division. 



302 REASON AND KEVELATION. 

But sometimes there is an advantage in distinguishing be- 
Difference be- tween the mode of an event, and the means by 

tween the mode i • i ♦.. • tit t n • i n 

■And the means which it is accomplished. In all miracles, for 
of an event. instance, the means are infinite wisdom, power, 
and goodness; and may therefore in some degree be appre- 
hended by even our finite understanding. But 

Illustration. J . fe 

the mode of all miracles is to us, wholly unintel- 
ligible. And hence we should never attempt to explain a 
miracle. We may readily believe it, and receive it as a fact : 
but its mode lies wholly beyond the narrow limits of human 
reason and human philosophy. The German and French Ra- 
Bationaiistic tionalists generally invent modes corresponding 
mode of inter- w ith their own fancy ; and then they interpret 

preting all J 7 ■/ x 

scripture the Scriptures accordingly. Thus, for example, 

they suppose that the mode in which Sennache- 
rib's army was destroyed in Judea, was wholly natural, caused 
by the poisonous and fatal effects of an east wind called the 
Simoom. This is to trifle with the word of God. 

VII. Quando, when ? It is well to ascertain, as near 
importance of as possible, the time when any document that 
tim^'when the xS to be interpreted, was written. This will 
book to be in- ft en serve, in many ways, to make things plain 

terpreted was 7 J J ' ox 

written. which would otherwise be very obscure. Take, 

for instance, the conversation of Christ with Nicodemus; or 
that which he held with the woman at the well of Samaria; 
or his inimitably tender valedictory to his disciples on the 
same night on which he was betrayed : how much, how very 
much of the point, and the beauty, and the propriety of these 
discourses, is derived from the occasion and circumstances 
under which they were delivered ! And how much pathos 
is added to several of Paul's most beautiful epistles, when it 
is known and remembered, that they were written while he 
was a prisoner at Rome for the Word of God and the testi- 
mony of Jesus Christ! 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 303 

The time may be ascertained in several ways : 

1. Sometimes it is expressly given by the au- Meansofascer- 
thor himself. (See Isaiah i : 1 ; Hosea i : 1 ; and d ^ "* a ^ y 

AmOS i: 1.) document. 

2. When the time is not given by the author, it may fre- 
quently be ascertained by comparing together sundry events 
contained in the book itself; or by comparing these with the 
statements of other authors. For example, it is evident, 

(1.) That the Epistle to the Romans was written when 
Paul was about to visit Jerusalem, to minister 

Illustration. 

to the wants of the poor saints. (Romans xv : 
25-27.) 

(2.) That this was Paul's last visit to Jerusalem, before 
he was taken a prisoner to Rome. (Compare Acts xxiv : 
17, 18, with xxi : 27.) 

(3.) And hence it is highly probable, if indeed not abso- 
lutely certain, that the Epistle to the Romans was written 
by Paul during his three months' residence at Corinth, just 
before he made the aforesaid visit to Jerusalem. (Acts xx : 
1-3.) This then would fix the date of the epistle at about 
the beginning of the year A. D. 57. For it is generally 
agreed, that Paul reached Rome about the beginning of 
A. D. 60. And if so he must have left Csesarea, about the 
first of September, A. D. 59. (Acts xxvii : 9.) And as he 
was for two years a prisoner at Caesarea, (Acts xxiv : 27,) 
he must have come to Jerusalem about the last of May, 
A. D. 57, (Acts xx : 16 ;) for then was the time of the Pen- 
tecost. And hence, his three months' residence in Corinth 
must have been during the beginning of the same year. 



304 EEASON AND REVELATION. 



CHAPTER III. 

HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS PROPER. 

SECTION I. — Rules for Ascertaining the Meaning op 
Single Words and Phrases. 

First General j Consult the context. This may serve to ex- 

Kule of single ^ 

words. plain the meaning of words in several ways. 

1. Sometimes the writer himself explains a doubtful or 

obscure term by an equivalent or synonymous 

Specifications J A . 

and iiiustra- word or expression. E. g. : Efifiavoorp^ Emman- 
uel, or from the Hebrew ^KU^K, Immanuel, in 
Matthew i : 23, is explained to mean God with us ; Pajlftt, 
Rabbi, John i : 38, is made equivalent to dtdacrAolo^, teacher; 
Meaaca, Messiah, John i : 42, is translated the Christ; and 
xaza7i£Ta(T l uaTa ) vail, in Hebrews x : 20, is explained to 
mean the flesh of Christ. 

2. Sometimes the subject and predicate of a proposition 
mutually serve to explain each other. E. g. : We say, salt is 
good; the soil is good; the house is good; our laws are good; 
God is good. In all such examples the subject sufficiently 
defines and explains the predicate. The word fuopovjco 
generally means to be or to make dull; but in Matthew v: 
13, means to be insipid; and in Romans i: 22, it means to 
become foolish. 

3. Sometimes the antithesis, contrast, or parallelism of 
words may help to explain and to illustrate their meaning. 
E. g. : In Matthew viii : 22, Jesus said to one of his disciples : 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 305 

" Follow me ; and let the dead bury their dead" That is 
evidently, Let those who are dead in trespasses and in sins 
bury those who are physically dead. This rule is of great 
assistance to the student of Hebrew poetry. 

4. Sometimes the adjuncts of a term enable us to explain 
its meaning. E.g.: BaTzrtotia ev udari, immersion in water; 
Ba-rtofxa eu toj I7vsu/ia7c ay:uj, immersion in the Holy 
Spirit ; Banzeaita sv nope, immersion in fire. In these ex- 
amples, the word immersion is used with the same significa- 
tion, but in different senses. 

5. Sometimes the meaning of a word can be ascertained 
from a subjoined example or illustration. E. g.: The word 
tzcgtcz, faith, in Hebrews xi: 1, is beautifully explained and 
illustrated by the examples that are given in the following 
parts of the same chapter. In like manner the Acts of the 
Apostles may be properly regarded as an illustration of the 
several terms that are used in the Great Commission, Mat- 
thew xxviii : 18-20; Mark xvi: 15,16. 

6. Sometimes the meaning of a word can be ascertained 
from the special scope of a passage in which it occurs. E. g. : 
The word napaTceaovrtx;, having fallen away, in Hebrews vi : 
6, evidently means having apostatized. So daacoG'jvy , jus- 
tice, or rather the doing what is just and right, in Romans 
i: 17, means God's scheme of making men just; and in Ro- 
mans iii : 25, it means his administrative justice. In all such 
cases, it is a good, practical rule, to substitute the definition 
for the word itself. And if it fulfills all the requirements 
of the context, it is most likely the true meaning of the 
word in the given passage. 

7. Sometimes the general scope of a book or epistle may 
serve to determine the meaning of a word. E. g. : Let it be 
proposed to determine whether the word duty or happiness 
should be supplied in Ecclesiastes xii : 13. 

H. Consult parallel passages, and especially verbal parol- 
20 



306 REASON AND REVELATION. 

second General i e j Sm j n & [ n cr so it will be well to observe the 

Rule. ° 

following order: 

1. Consult those that occur in the same book. E. g. : The 

words t»3J ^ in Isaiah ix : 6, are by many Ger- 

Proper order of ' J J 

consulting par- man critics supposed to mean simply the mighty 
hero. But in Isaiah x : 21 the same words can 
apply only to the Deity. The prophet says, " The remnant 
of Jacob shall return unto the mighty God." And hence we 
infer that the same words have the same meaning in ix : 6 ; 
and that the passage should be rendered as follows : 

For unto us a child is born ; unto us a son is given ; 

And the government shall be upon his shoulder; 

And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, 

The mighty God, the Father of the everlasting age, 

The Prince of peace. 

The word yevea, generation, in Matthew xxiv: 34, is by 
some supposed to mean the race of the Jews, or the poster- 
ity of Abraham according to the flesh. But the same word 
occurs elsewhere in Matthew, twelve times ; and in every in- 
stance it means not a race, but a generation. 

2. Consult those that occur in different works of the same 
author. E. g. : In Romans i : 1, Paul calls himself the oouaoz, 
servant, of Jesus Christ ; by which term, he meant to con- 
vey the idea, that he was not his own, but that he belonged 
to Christ. This is evident from 1 Corinthians vii : 23 : " You 
have been bought with a price : become not the servants 
(oouAoi) of men." 

3. Consult the works of other authors : always preferring 
those that were written on the same subject, in the same age, 
and in the same country. E. g. : In Matthew xix : 24, 
Christ says, " It is easier for a camel to go through the eye 
of a needle, than for a rich man (kXougcoz) to enter into the 
kingdom of God." But from Mark x : 24, we learn that in 
Christ's dialect, a rich man is one who trusts in his riches. 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 307 

III. Consult the etymology of the ivords to be Tllinl ( """eiai 
interpreted. This rule is often of great service 
in helping us to appreciate the delicate shades of thought 
designed to be expressed by words that are nearly synony- 
mous. E. g. : 

1. In Galatians vi : 2, we are exhorted "to bear one 
another's burdens." And in the fifth verse of 

Illustrations. 

the same chapter, it is said, " Every man shall 
bear his own burden." In the first instance, the burdens 
spoken of are the cares or weights (to. fto-p'q) which press- 
heavily on us as matters of business; and from which we 
may often be either partially or wholly relieved by the as- 
sistance of others. But in the second case, the burden (to 
fpopreov) is the weight of a man's own responsibility, which 
every man must bear for himself, and from which there is 
no deliverance. 

2. A second example occurs in Romans xi : 15, in the 
climax expressed by the words iXeew and ocxtscoco. " I will 
have mercy (iXesaj) on whom I will have mercy ; and I will 
have compassion (ocxTScp(o) on whom I will have compas- 
sion." The word l/soc simply means pity; but btxTC()p.oq, 
belongs to the family of the interjection 6i (oh !) and always 
implies an expression of pity. 

3. SeeozTj in Romans i : 20 is from the adjective Oscoz 
divine; and has reference merely to the attributes of God, as 
they are imperfectly revealed to us in the works of nature. 
But 6zot7]z, in Colossians ii : 9, is from OeoQ, God; and means 
the Divinity, as it is more perfectly revealed to us in the Bible. 

4. The words Isoou and vo.bc, are both commonly repre- 
sented in English by the word temple. But the former, from 
lepos, sacred, includes the temple proper, and all its courts, 
porches, and porticos: whereas the latter, from vacco, I dwell 
or inhabit, is simply the temple itself, God's chosen habita- 
tion. 



308 REASON AND REVELATION. 

5. The two Greek words £iovj and /&oc are also always 
represented in English by the same word life. But the for- 
mer from £ato, to live, means life in contrast with death : and 
the latter from fiwco, to pass one's life, means (1) the period 
of life ; (2) the means of life ; and (3) the manner of life. 

6. Merauoeco from, [isra with, and vooc the mind, implies 
a thorough change of the whole mind, the intellect, the 
affections, and the will. But fizz o.fiiXo fiat, from fisra and 
fieXco, to be an object of care, simply denotes a change of care 
or anxiety. It may imply such repentance as needs not to 
be repented of; or it may simply denote a sorrow that work- 
eth death, as in the case of Judas. 

These few examples are sufficient to illustrate the value of 
caution neces- Etymology, as a means of ascertaining, in many 
pUcaUonoftMs cases, the exact meaning of words. But at the 
Rule# same time, it is well to remember that great cau- 

tion is necessary in its application. This is owing to the 
frequent changes of meaning, to which the words of all liv- 
ing languages are liable. Take, for example, the 
word villain, from the Latin villanus. It orig- 
inally meant simply a poor serf attached to the villa or farm 
of a landlord. But now it means a low, vile, and wicked 
person. Or take the word sycophant (cruxoyavryz, from aoxov 
a fig, and (paevw to show). This originally meant a fig- 
shower, or an informer against fig-stealers ; and hence, in 
time, it came to signify a tale-bearer ; and then a parasite, 
or an obsequious flatterer. The word archipelago originally 
meant the great or chief sea, from apy^oc, chief, and xeXayoz 
sea; but now it is applied to any and every sea that is filled 
with islands. 

For an illustration of the judicious use and application of 
Examples of this rule, see BengePs Gnomon ; and for a very 



the use and 
abuse of this 

rule. Diversions of Purley, 



marked instance of its abuse, see Home Tooke's 

abuse of this 7 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 309 



MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES. 

The following additional examples are given for the pur- 
pose of illustrating more fully some of the most important 
of the preceding rules. 

I. The word K?3, to create, sometimes means simply to ren- 
ovate or to make something out of preexisting Meaning of the 
substances. Thus, for instance, David says, in word N ^ "*■ 
Psalm li: x, "Create (**??) in me a clean heart, 
O God : and renew a right spirit within me." And in Isaiah 
lxv: 17, Jehovah says, "For behold I create ( x ?.^) new 
heavens and a new earth ; and the former shall not be re- 
membered or come into mind." And hence some have in- 
ferred that this is its meaning in Genesis i: 1. They allege 
that matter was always in being : and that in the beginning, 
God simply refitted and rearranged it for the benefit of man. 

But this hypothesis is evidently incorrect, as will appear 
from the following considerations. 

1 . The word commonly used in Hebrew, to express a mere 
formation, or creation in a secondarv sense, is not 

' * ' Evidence from 

K^l but nw, In this sense, the latter occurs in the use of the 

i tt i m i n word itself. 

the Hebrew oenptures, more than twenty-live 

hundred times; and the latter only in a few instances, when 

great emphasis is required. 

2. It is inconsistent with the context. The original act 
of creation, stated in Genesis i : 1, was evidently Evidcnce f 10 m 
altogether different and distinct from the arrange- the context - 
ments and readjustments that are described in the following 
verses of the same chapter. And hence, in Genesis ii : 3, 
both the words K^s and nfrJJ are used: the former to denote 
the original act of creation; and the latter the mere forma- 
tions and modifications that followed it. "And God blessed 
the seventh day," says Moses, " because that on it he had 
rested from all his work which God had created to make" 



310 REASON AND REVELATION. 

3. It is inconsistent with sundry parallel passages. In 
„ .. , John i: 3, for example, it is said, according to 

liVidence from 7 *- ' ° 

parallel pas- the very literal and exact version of Thomas 
Sheldon Green , " All things came into being 
(syeusro) through him; and without him, came not one 
thing into being, that is in being (jeyovsv)" But matter 
is in being. And therefore it was in the beginning, brought 
into being by him, according to Genesis i : 1. In Hebrews 
xi : 3, we have also evidence to the same effect. " By 
faith," says the Apostle, " we understand that the worlds 
were framed by the word of God; so that things which are 
seen were not made of things which do appear" Or accord- 
ing to Green's version : " By faith we understand that the 
worlds have been framed by the word of God ; so that what 
is seen, has not come into being from things that meet the view" 
Hence we conclude, that the word k?3 in Genesis i : 1, sig- 
nifies creation absolute; or the bringing into being of that 
which had previously no existence in any shape, form, or 
condition whatever. 

II. In like manner the word Di" day is sometimes used 
,, . ,„ for an indefinite period of time ; as for instance 

Meaning of the L ' 

word or day, in Psalin ex : 3. Here Jehovah is represented 
as saying to the Messiah, " Thy people shall be 
willing in the day of thy power ; in the beauties of holiness, 
from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy 
youth." The word day (^^ , ) in this connection evidently 
means the time of Christ's mediatorial reign, or the whole 
period of the Christian era. And hence some persons, in- 
fluenced by geological considerations, have inferred that it 
has a similar meaning in the first chapter of Genesis : that 
the seven days of the week of creation, or rather of the 
week of renovation, mean in reality seven long and indefi- 
nite geological periods. 

But to this hypothesis there are valid objections. For, 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 311 

1. It is inconsistent with the context. The first chapter 
of Genesis is not a poetical allegory. It is a Evidence from 
plain and simple narrative of historical events. thecoutext - 
And in all such composition, it may be laid down as a safe 
rule of interpretation, that "the most simple sense is most 
likely to be the genuine sense." But who, without a theory to 
support, would ever think of regarding these seven days as 
so many indefinite periods?! 

It is moreover pretty evident from the narrative itself, that 
the events described in the first and second verses of this 
chapter, are not included in the work of the six days of the 
Adamic renovation. The reader will observe that the work 
of the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth days, is in each 
case introduced by the very potent and significant phrase, 
" And God said :" and hence it is quite probable, if indeed 
not quite certain, that the work of the first day was, in like 
manner, introduced by the first occurrence of this phrase in 
the third verse. And hence we infer, with a good degree 
of certainty, from the context, 

(1.) That the first verse of Genesis describes creation ab- 
solute; or the original generation of all the materials of the 
physical universe. 

(2.) That the second verse has reference to the chaotic 
state of the earth after the last great cataclysm immediately 
preceding the Adamic renovation. 

(3.) That between these two epochs given in the first and 
second verses of Genesis, as many ages may have occurred 
as will satisfy all the demands of Natural Science. 

(4.) That when the fullness of time was come, God intro- 
duced the Historic period, or the Adamic era, by his own 
omnipotent fiat, as recorded in the third verse of Genesis. 
"And God said, Let there be light; and there was light." 

(5.) And finally, that the entire work of fitting up the 
earth for the use, comfort, and happiness of man, was com- 



312 REASON AND REVELATION. 

pletecl within the space of six ordinary days of twenty-four 
hours each ; and that on the seventh day of the same length, 
God rested from all his works. 

2. This view of the matter is also confirmed by sundry 

parallel passages. Take, for illustration, the 
parallel pas- fourth precept of the Decalogue. " Remember," 

said God to Israel, " the Sabbath day to keep it 
holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. But 
the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it 
thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy 
daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor 
thy cattle, nor thy stranger, that is within thy gates: for in 
six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that 
in them is; and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord 
blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it." It is very obvious 
that the word day, throughout this precept, is used in the 
same sense, simply to denote a period of twenty-four hours. 
And it is therefore also just as obvious that the six days of 
creation were ordinary days of twenty-four hours each. 
III. The Hebrew word uHs and the Greek auov are each 

equivalent to the English word everlasting. They 

Meaning of the n 7 #• # i i tij 

words nSfi? are relative terms, and may be applied to any 
aiuv, anci^ever- age or period. Thus, for instance, in Exodus 
lasting or for- xxi . ^ the word D Sij/ [ s applied to a period of 

service; and simply means, that the servant 
should serve his master as long as he lived. In Exodus 
xl: 15, it is applied to the Levitical priesthood; and means 
that it should continue throughout the entire Jews' age, or 
while the Old Covenant should endure. In Genesis xlix : 
26, it is applied to the hills ; and comprehends all time: this 
is also evidently its meaning in Daniel ii: 44, and many other 
passages of Scripture. 

From such premises, some have hastily inferred, that these 
words always refer to a limited period: and that they never 



HERMENEUTTCS AND EXEGESIS. 313 

mean duration without end. But they arc always perfectly 
exhaustive of the entire period or cycle to which they are ap- 
plied. If they refer simply to the period of a man's life, they 
exhaust it; if to an age, they exhaust it; if to time, they ex- 
haust it; and if to eternity, they in like manner, exhaust it. 
So that when Christ says, "These shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment (s^c xoXaacv aiwvtov), but the righteous 
into everlasting life (s^c C^ v auovtois), Matthew xxv : 46, he 
means, beyond all doubt, life and punishment without end. 

IV. In Matthew xii : 31, 32, Christ said to the Pharisees, 
" All manner of sin (dftaprecL) and blasphemy 
shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy a bi es in. 
against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto 
men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of 
[Man, it shall be forgiven him : but whosoever speaketh 
against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either 
in the present age or in the age that is to come." 

It is generally supposed, and I presume correctly, that in 
this passage, Christ designs to teach that there is 

t 7 . n 1*1,1 Various mani- 

one sin among men, and out one for which there f es tationsofit. 
is no forgiveness.* And it seems to be here iden- 
tified, at least in some degree, with the blasphemy which the 
Pharisees had just uttered against the Holy Spirit, in ascrib- 
ing the miracles of Christ wrought by the Spirit, to Beelze- 
bub. But in Hebrews vi: 4-6, Paul teaches that the sin of 
apostacy is unpardonable : and in Proverbs i : 24-32, Solo- 
mon assures us that the sin of negligence may become un- 
pardonable. How, then, are these statements to be recon- 
ciled ? 

The solution of what has thus appeared, to some persons, 
to be a very great difficulty, is found in the mean- Mode of r<1C0n . 
ing of the word kaapTta. sin. Ordinarily this ciling th f 8e ap " 

° i i * j parent discrep- 

word means simply an overt transgression of ancles. 
*See also 1 John v: 16. 



314 REASON AND REVELATION. 

law. But this is not always its meaning. Frequently, it is 
also used to denote the sinful, depraved, and wicked state of 
heart, that prompts a man to commit such outward acts. 
This is evidently its meaning in the following passages: 
" Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that 
the body of sin (kpapTto) might be destroyed, that henceforth 
we should not serve sin (apaprco) : for he that is dead is freed 
from sin (kpapTcd). Likewise reckon ye also yourselves dead 
indeed unto sin (apaprcd), but alive unto God through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Let not sin (apaprta) therefore reign in 
your mortal bodies, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 
Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteous- 
ness unto sin (apapzui). — For sin (hpapzio) shall not have 
dominion over you. — But God be thanked, that though ye 
were the servants of sin (apaprca), ye have obeyed from the 
heart that form of doctrine into which ye were delivered. 
Being then made free from sin (apaprtd) ye became the serv- 
ants of righteousness. — For when ye were the servants of sin 
(kpapTca), ye were free from righteousness. — But now being 
made free from sin (fipaprca) and become the servants of God, 
ye have your end unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 
For the wages of sin (apapzta) is death ; but the gift of God 
is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans vi : 
6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 22, and 23. See also the 
whole of the seventh chapter.) 

From such passages, which might be greatly multiplied, it 
is evident, that the word sin may denote simply the depravity 
or sinfulness of the human heart: and moreover, that this one 
sinful state of heart may lead a man to commit many sinful 
acts. And hence we conclude that the unpardonable sin is 
in what this simply such a degree of spiritual depravity as 
sin consists. places a man beyond the possibility of being saved. 
This, of course, may make itself manifest in many ways. 
Sometimes it may be seen in a mere Stoical indifference, 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 315 

which all the mercies of God through Christ may not be 
able to overcome. Sometimes it may be manifested in as- 
cribing the words and works of God to Beelzebub. And 
sometimes again it may be seen for a long time in the life 
and character of such men as Julian, the Apostate. But in 
all cases, it is but one and the same awfully hard, How it is hl . 
corrupt, immovable, and unredeemable state of curred - 
heart, which the individual has brought upon himself by his 
own personal transgressions. 

SECTIOX II. — Rules for Ascertaining the Meaning of 

Sentences. 

I. Be careful to ascertain its right construction. This re- 
quires attention, First Rule for 

1. TO itS ellipsis. sentences. 

2. To its subject and predicate, w T ith all their primary 
and secondary adjuncts. 

3. To its punctuation. 

II. Consider attentively whether it contains toithin itself the 
means of its own explanation. If it does, these 
are sufficient. To seek for other means of ex- 
planation and illustration, is unnecessary, unless in important 
cases, when it may be well to multiply evidence and argu- 
ments for the sake of still greater perspicuity and emphasis. 
E. g. : The third precept of the Decalogue reads as follows : 
" Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 

/->,!• . n T -. #11 lTTi- Illustration. 

(jrod m vain : lor the .Lord will not hold him 
guiltless that taketh his name in vain." 

This is a compound sentence, the construction of which 
may be easily understood by all who have studied even the 
elements of Grammar and Logic. It also contains within 
itself the means of its own explanation. First, there is given 
a command, forbidding even all unnecessary and undue 



316 REASON AND REVELATION. 

familiarity with the name of God. And in the second place, 
there is a reason assigned for this prohibition: "The Lord 
will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his name in vain." 
Such an exegesis, given somewhat in detail, according to 
circumstances, would be sufficient for all ordinary purposes. 
But if the persons addressed are young and inexperienced, 
or if the object of the interpreter is to correct some habitual 
violation of the spirit and letter of this precept, — in either 
case, it might be well to refer to the context; to make the 
person or persons addressed feel the awful solemnity of the 
circumstances under which this precept was given to the 
Israelites; and furthermore, to refer to such other passages 
of Scripture as might serve to illustrate the terrible conse- 
quences of neglecting this law. 

And hence, whenever the meaning of a sentence is not 
sufficiently clear and obvious from its own construction and 
a due regard to the meaning of the several words and mem- 
bers that compose it, the next rule to be observed is, 

III. Consult the context; or the connection in which it 

Third Kuie. stands. This requires special attention to the 

two folio wins: particulars: first, to the special 

Two things & r „,.■... 

necessary in scope of the paragraph or passage of which it is a 
proper appiica- member ; and secondly, to the nature of the union 
tion - that subsists between the sentence itself and its 

context. Of these we must now speak particularly. 

THE SPECIAL SCOPE. 

The special scope of a passage may be ascertained in sev- 
eral ways. 

1. It may be ascertained from the preceding context E. g. : 
The special scope of the three parables in the 

First way of x L x 

ascertaining fifteenth chapter of Luke, is easily understood 
BcopTof^pas- from what is contained in the first two verses, 
eage. "And all the publicans and sinners came near 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 317 

to hear him. And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, say- 
ing : This man receives sinners and eats with 
them." This led Christ to speak of God's com- 
passion for sinners, and his earnest desire to reclaim and save 
the lost. The oldest son of the third parable resembles the 
Scribes and Pharisees in one respect: he murmured at the 
benevolence of his father. 

2. It may often be ascertained from the following context. 
E. g.: In Ecclesiastes x: 1, it is said: " Dead The second 
flies cause the apothecary's ointment to send forth way - 

an offensive smell." The design of the writer in this remark 
is made plain by what follows : " So," says he, 

n • • • i i Illustration. 

a a little folly is more powerful than wisdom and 
honor." That is, a little folly may render offensive the con- 
duct of even the wise and honorable. 

3. It may be ascertained from the general scope. E. g. : 
John's object in recording the several miracles 

and discourses of Christ, may be easily under- 
stood from the particular circumstances of each case, taken 
in connection with the general design of his 
whole narrative. (See John xx: 30, 31.) 



Illustration. 



NATURE OF THE UNION. 
The next step that is necessary in order to a proper ex- 



amination of the context, is, to notice carefully 
the nature of the union that subsists between 



Different kinds 
of union be- 
tween a clause 

the sentence under consideration, and the sev- and its context. 
eral other clauses with which it is connected. This connec- 
tion is called, 

1. Logical, when the relation of the clauses is illative. 
E. g.: The ground is rich, for the trees are 
flourishing. Become ye holy, for I am holy. 



318 REASON AND REVELATION. 

With many of them God was not well pleased; for they 
were overthrown in the wilderness. 

In tracing out this connection, all parentheses and digres- 
sions must be laid aside. Digressions are longer than par- 
entheses; and are therefore the more liable to mislead the 
student unless they are carefully considered. The following 
examples may serve for illustration : 

(1.) Romans v : 13-17, inclusive, 

(2.) Ephesians iii : 2 — iv : 1, inclusive. 

(3.) Hebrews v : 11 — vi : 20, inclusive. 

2. The connection is called jjsychological, when it depends 
Psychological on the laws of suggestion, whether primary or 
union - secondary; whether objective or subjective. This 
is beautifully illustrated in many of the discourses of our 
Savior. (See, for instance, Matthew iv : 19 ; xvi : 18 ; John 
iii: 19; iv: 10; vii: 37-39; ix : 39 ; x: 1-18.) In all these 
passages, the law of resemblance or analogy is the bond of 
union. 

3. The connection is called historical, when events are 
Historical related in their regular chronological order; be- 
union - cause this is what we have a right to expect of 
every historian. This order is commonly followed in the 
books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. 

4. It is called historico-dogmatic, when historical events are 
Histovico-dog- regularly introduced for didactic purposes. This 
matic union. very often occurs in the history of the primitive 
Church. Nothing in its organization or development was laid 
down by its inspired legislators, as a matter of theory. In 
most cases, the Holy Spirit suggested to the Apostles, through 
the force and power of circumstances, the rules that were then 
necessary, and that are still necessary for its growth, efficiency, 
and prosperity. This is well illustrated in the appointment 
of the first seven Deacons, (Acts vi : 1-7 ;) in the 

Illustrations. -.. n . . , » , ••• i o \ ' 

sending out of missionaries, (Acts xm : 1— o ;J in 



HERMEXEUTTCS AND EXEGESIS. 319 

an important case of reference from one congregation to an- 
other, (Acts xv: 1-31;) in excluding the disorderly from the 
church, (1 Corinthians v;) and in many other cases of like 
practical importance. 

5. It is called optical, when the order of time is neglected, 
and the past and the future are described as pres- The optical 
cut realities. This sort of union is very common union - 
in prophecy. Thus, Isaiah says, "Unto us a child is born; 
unto us a son is given." (Isaiah ix : 6. See also Jeremiah 
iv: 19-31.) 

By these two processes then — namely, that of finding out 
the special scope of a passage, and that of tracing out the 
connection that exists between the clause to be interpreted 
and its other members, the light of the context may be elic- 
ited. And this will generally be sufficient to determine the 
meaning of the sentence, when this can not be ascertained 
with sufficient clearness from its own construction. I will 
add a few examples, for the purpose of illustrating more fully 
this most important rule of Sacred Hermeneutics : 

1. In John vi: 53, Jesus says: " Verily, verily, I say 
unto you; except ye eat the flesh of the Son of illustrations of 
Man/ and drink his blood, ye have no life in ^]^ Gen ' 

YOU W First example. 

The object of Christ, in this discourse, is, to draw the 
minds and the hearts of the people from those created things 
in which they were wont to trust; and to fix them on him- 
self as their only true and all-sufficient portion. This is 
the special scope of the passage. 

The connection, in this case, is psychological. The peo- 
ple had recently eaten of the five loaves and two small 
fishes; and this circumstance suggested to Christ the train 
of metaphors that follow. This is evident, from the six- 
ty-third verse of the chapter. "It is the Spirit," says 
Christ, " that quickeneth : the flesh profiteth nothing. The 



320 REASON AND REVELATION. 

words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are 
life." 

It is evident therefore that the words of Christ in the 
fifty-third verse are figurative: and that it is simply by 
faith that we are to receive him as the food and portion of 
our souls. This is made still more obvious by the forty- 
seventh verse : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that be- 
lieveth into me, has everlasting life." (See also John iii : 36.) 

2. Take as a second example 1 Corinthians xv : 29 : " For 
second exam- e l se what shall those do who are baptized for the 
ple - dead (uxsf) usxpcov), if the dead rise not at all?" 

The scope of the chapter is to prove the resurrection of the 
dead : and the connection is both logical and psychological. 
And hence it is evident, that Paul here draws an argument 
in support of the doctrine of the final resurrection, from the 
practice of Christian immersion. The typical or symbolical 
connection between the two is assumed; and on this the 
Apostle bases his argument. What, says he, does your burial 
and your resurrection in baptism mean ; and of what value 
is your immersion into Christ, if there is no resurrection from 
the dead? 

3. We will take as a third example Galatians iii: 20: 
^. J , " Now a mediator is not a mediator of one: but 

Third example. 

God is one." 

The object of the Apostle in this part of his letter, is to show 
that the eternal inheritance promised to Abraham and to his 
seed, was intended not for his seed according to the flesh, but 
for those who were his children by faith and according to the 
promise: and moreover, that this inheritance is to be enjoyed 
not through the Law but through the Covenant concerning 
Christ (e*c xpcarov) : and that the Law was simply added to 
this very comprehensive arrangement, for a mere temporary 
and specific purpose. 

The connection is psychological. The law of suggestion 



HERMEXEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 321 

in the case, is the law of contrast. The Law of Moses was 
given for a temporary purpose: but the Gospel is designed 
for the eternal good and happiness of all men. The Law 
was given under circumstances and through instrumentalities 
that imply some degree of diversity : but God is ever the one, 
same, and immutable Jehovah. 

And hence it follows, that if, as is clearly proved by the 
context, it was once God's purpose to bless through the 
Gospel, all who are the children of Abraham by faith, then 
indeed it is still his purpose: and moreover, that the law, 
though given under the most solemn circumstances and for 
a most important temporary purpose, is not and can not, in 
any sense, be opposed to the Gospel scheme of Justification 
by Faith ; but on the contrary, it served as a pedagogue to 
bring to Christ, all who profited by its instructions : so that 
it was in fact from the beginning but a subordinate part 
of the Divine plan. 

IV. The fourth rule for ascertaining the meaning of a 
sentence, is as follows: Consult parallel passo.ges. roU rth Rule 
That is real parallels : passages in which the same for sentences - 
ideas are expressed in either the same or in different words. 
The order to be observed under this rule is the rder of a PP iy- 
same as that given for verbal parallels. ing jt - 

The following examples will serve to illustrate the im- 
portance and the proper use and application of this rule. 

1. "We will take the first from Isaiah xlix : 7 : " Thus saith 
the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holv T 

; J Illustrations. 

One, to him whom man despisdh ; to him whom 
the nation abhorreth; to a servant of rulers: Kings shall 
see and arise; and princes shall worship, because of the 
Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he 
shall choose thee." 

Of whom is this spoken? Who is he that was despised 
by man, and abhorred by the nation ? The answer to this 
21 



322 REASON AND REVELATION. 

question is found in Isaiah lii : 13 — liii. I have space only 
to quote the last three verses of the fifty-second chapter, but 
the reader should also study carefully the whole of the fifty- 
third ; it is but a continuation of the same subject. " Be- 
hold my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted 
and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished 
at thee : (his visage was so marred more than any man, and 
his form more than the sons of men) : so shall he sprinkle 
many nations ; the kings shall shut their mouths at him : for 
that which had not been told them shall they see; and that 
which they had not heard shall they consider." From this, 
considered in connection with the next chapter, it is perfectly 
obvious, that the person previously referred to in the forty- 
ninth chapter is the Messiah : who at one time was to be 
despised and rejected by man; but who was soon afterward 
to be gloriously exalted. 

The word nr: signifies, according to Gesenius, (1) to leap 
for joy, to exult; (2) in Hiphil, to cause to leap for joy; 
(3) to sprinkle by the spouting or leaping forth of liquids. 
It is here used in the Hiphil future: and the clause is 
translated by Gesenius as follows : " So shall he cause many 
nations to rejoice in himself." This harmonizes well with 
the context. 

2. In Isaiah lxv : 25, it is said : " The wolf and the lamb 
shall feed together; and the lion shall eat straw like the bul- 
lock ; and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not 
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." 

Is this language literal or is it figurative ? In Isaiah xi : 
6-9, we find a parallel passage, the last verse of which is as 
follows : " They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy 
mountain : for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the 
Lord as the ivaters cover the sea. v This last clause proves 
'beyond all doubt, that the language of the preceding extract 
is figurative. For powerful as the word of the Lord is to 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 323 

convert human lions, and tigers, and panthers into lambs, it 
can never change the natural instincts of the beasts of prey. 

3. In Genesis xlix : 7, Jacob speaking by the Spirit of 
prophecy, concerning Simeon and Levi, says: "I will di- 
vide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel." 

This prophecy was literally fulfilled. In Joshua xxi : 1- 
42, we learn that the Levites occupied as their portion of the 
land, forty-eight cities scattered among all the Tribes. The 
Simeonites at first received by lot a part of the inheritance 
of Judah. (See Joshua xix : 1-9.) But this being too small 
for them, some went further north, and occupied some of the 
more central portions of Judah, as Gedor, for example; and 
others went south to Mount Seir and the country of the 
Amalekites. (See 1 Chronicles iv : 24-43.) It is therefore 
very probable that they were scattered still further among 
the Tribes. 

MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES. 

I. In Matthew xi : 12, Christ said to the Example mus- 
multitudes : " From the days of John the Bap- cominence- 
tist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth E£££5 
violence ; and the violent take it by force." Heaven. 

The object of Christ in the entire paragraph of which this 
verse is a member, is to commend John to the S co P eoftke 
multitudes : and the connection of this clause P assa = e - 
with the context is both optical and psychological. The 
conception in the mind of Christ, which gave Natureofthe 
being to the several metaphors used, was that union - 
of a city into, which a besieging army was resolved to enter. 
Xo sooner did John with his mighty voice, announce to the 
people the near approach of the Kingdom of Heaven, than 
"Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round about 
Jordan" went out to him, "and were baptized by him in 
the Jordan confessing their sins." Thus they manifested 



324 REASON AND REVELATION. 

their confidence in the very near approach of the Kingdom, 
Evidence that an d their fixed purpose and determination to 
the Kingdom en ter it as soon as it would really come to hand. 

was not really •> 

set up in the But that its existence, at that time, was ideal and 
not real, is evident from several considerations. 

1. From the fact that John himself was not in the King- 
dom. For Christ says, in the preceding verse: "He that is 
least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he." Surely 
if any one could at that time have entered the Kingdom, 
John would have done it. And besides, it is difficult to 
understand how he that was the greatest of all that had ever 
been born of woman, could be less than the least citizen of 
the Kingdom, if it was then an existing reality ? 

2. From the fact, that John himself said: ° 'The Kingdom 
of Heaven is at hand." (Matthew iii : 2.) 

3. From the fact, that Christ proclaimed the same thing. 
(Matthew iv: 17.) 

4. From the fact, that he instructed his disciples to pray : 
" Thy Kingdom come." (Matthew vi : 10.) 

5. From the fact, that the Jewish theocracy, otherwise 
called the Kingdom of God (Matthew xxi: 43), was not 
taken out of the way, until its types and shadows were all 
fulfilled in the great Antitype, and by Him, nailed to the 
cross. (Colossians ii : 14.) But these two kingdoms, the 
typical and the antitypical or real, could not exist simulta- 
neously. 

6. From the fact, that Jesus could not be crowned King 
until after his death, burial, and resurrection. Nor could 
the Holy Spirit be given, according to the laws and ordi- 
nances of this most glorious institution, till after Christ was 
glorified. (John vii : 39.) 

7. From the fact, that John never baptized any one in the 
name or by the authority of Jesus Christ : nor did he ever 
baptize any one into the name of the Father, and of the Son, 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 325 

and of the Holy Spirit. All this was first done, on the day 
of Pentecost next following the death, burial, and resurrection 
of Jesus Christ. 

8. From the fact, that in Acts xi: 15, the Apostle Peter 
fixes the same day of Pentecost as the beginning of the 
Kingdom. His words are : " And as I began to speak, the 
Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning" At 
the beginning of what? Evidently at the beginning of the 
Kingdom. 

From all of which we conclude, that like many of the 
ancient prophets, Christ in the passage under 
consideration, simply disregards the idea of 
time; and contemplates the Kingdom of Heaven as a visi- 
ble reality, into which the multitudes, under the influence 
of John's preaching, were striving to enter with a zeal or a 
species of violence analogous to that of a besieging army. 
(See, for illustration, the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah.) 

II. "We will take as a second example the following from 
Matthew xvi: 18: "xYnd I say unto thee that Example mus- 
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build ^ativeofthe 

' *- Foundation of 

my church ; and the gates of hell shall not pre- the church. 
vail against it." 

The scope of the paragraph of which this clause is a mem- 
ber, is to reveal the true character of Christ, scope of the 
especially in its relations to the Church: and P ara « ra P h - 
the connection is psychological. It was reserved for Peter 
to reveal through the Holy Spirit, that Jesus is Nature of the 
the Christ, the Son of the living God. And union - 
hence there was a beautiful propriety in calling this great 
and fundamental truth a rock (rzezpa) ; for the twofold reason 
that it was first suggested by Peter (;rsr/?oc), and also because 
it was to be made the foundation of the Christian Church. 

The allegation, that Peter himself is the rock, Evidence that 

• J xl \ * 1 J? 1 Peter is I10t th6 

is evidently ialse tor several reasons. foundation. 



326 REASON AND REVELATION. 

1. Because it is inconsistent with the structure of the sen- 

tence. The use of the word nsrpa, a rock, in- 

From the ' 7 } 

structure of stead of Tterpo^, a stone, clearly indicates, that it 
was our Savior's intention to express a thought 
wholly different from that which was first suggested by the 
word xeTpoz. Even admitting that these two Greek words 
may be sometimes used interchangeably, it does not follow, 
that they are so used in this connection. We may use either 
thou or you to represent a noun in the second person singu- 
lar. But it would be a great violation of grammatical pro- 
priety, to represent it by each of these in the same sentence. 
A change of the pronoun would, in that case, imply also 
a change of the antecedent; and of course also of the idea 
to be expressed. And just so in the case under considera- 
tion. The word nsrpoz means properly a 'piece of rock or a 
done: and the word Tier pa means a rock, or rather a mass 
of live rock. They are however sometimes used interchange- 
ably. But this can never be done with propriety in the same 
clause or sentence. In this case, a change of words implies 
of necessity a change of ideas. 

2. It is inconsistent with the scope of the passage. The 
From the scope object of the Holy Spirit in this connection, is 
of the passage. not to revea i p e ter, but Christ to the world. 
True indeed, Peter deserved some honor for his agency in 
this marvelous revelation : and such honor Christ certainly 
confers on him. But he does this, by making him the door- 
keeper, and not the foundation of his Church. 

3. It is inconsistent with many parallel passages. For 
From parallel instance, in 1 Corinthians iii: 10, 11, Paul says: 
passages. a According to the grace of God which is given 
unto me, / have laid the foundation, and another buildeth 
thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth 
thereon. For other foundation can no man lay, than that is 
laid, which is Jesus Christ." But it is only by preaching 



HEXMENJEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 327 

Christ and him crucified, as Paul did in Corinth, that Christ 
can be laid as the foundation. And hence there is really no 
discrepancy between 1 Corinthians iii: 11, and Matthew xvi: 
18. And I may further add, that the foundation of the 
Apostles and Prophets on which the Ephesian Church was 
builded (Ephesians ii: 20), is the same foundation that is 
described in these two passages. For the foundation of the 
Apostles and Prophets is to be found only in their writings. 
But the scope of all these is identical with the confession of 
Peter, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. 

III. In Matthew xxi : 32, Ave have the following remarks 
of Christ, addressed to the Chief Priests and Example mus- 
Elders of the Jews: "For John came to you in '»«TeofKaith 

•/ and Kepeut- 

tlie way of righteousness, and ye believed him ance. 
not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and 
ye, when ye had seen it, repented (ftSTefieXydyvej regretted) 
not, that ye might believe him." 

Throughout the entire Bible, faith is generally represented 
as preceding both regret and repentance. Faith Their re i a tio» 
is described as the antecedent, and repentance as t0 eacb °^ eTt 

7 - 1 - as generally 

the consequent. But if so, it may be asked, represented. 
"What is the meaning of this passage ; and how may it be 
reconciled with the general teachings and tenor of the Holy 
Scriptures ? 

The whole difficulty is one of our own creation. It arises 
out of a false assumption on the part of many Fal8( , assump . 
who have attempted to explain the Bible. In- ti ? ni ? the case - 
deed there seems to be a proneness in the human mind, to 
look upon all the gifts and graces of the Spirit as perfect 
and full-grown entities from the moment they are received. 
We seem often to forget, that all Christian graces have a 
mutual and reflex influence over each other : and Their mutual 
that while faith is of necessity the first of them EJn^JJ 
all, without which every thing else is sinful and other - 



328 EEASON AND REVELATION. 

displeasing to God, it nevertheless depends essentially for 
its subsequent growth on the reflex influence of repentance, 
and the practical exercise of all the other virtues. If the 
first degree of it leads to a corresponding degree of repent- 
ance, this degree of repentance will in like manner serve to 
produce a second degree of faith; and this again another 
degree of repentance. So that notwithstanding faith is scrip- 
turally, logically, and philosophically the antecedent of re- 
pentance, their mutual growth, in all cases, depends, to some 
extent, on their mutual influence. 

And this is just what Christ aims to teach in the passage 
Meaning of the under consideration. The Priests and Elders 
passage. whom he here reprimands had some degree of 

faith in God ; but when God called on them by his messenger 
John, to manifest their faith in deeds of repentance and ref- 
ormation, they refused to hearken. And this refusal on their 
part was a barrier in their way to higher attainments of faith. 
Had they repented toward God in whom they did believe, they 
would also have believed in Christ as the promised Messiah. 

IV. The following very profound and interesting passage 
Example nius- is found in Romans xi: 16-24: "For if the 
dependence 0/ nrs * f ru ^ be holy, the lump is also holy : and if 
Gentiie ciiris- ^g r00 £ \y e holy, so are the branches. And if 

tians on the ^ J 

Jews. some of the branches be broken off, and thou, 

being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and 
with them partakest of the root and fatness of the Olive 
Tree, boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, 
thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say 
then, The branches were broken off that I might be grafted 
in. Well ; because of unbelief, they were broken off, and 
thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. For 
if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he 
also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and the 
severity of God: on them who fell, severity; but toward 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 329 

thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness : otherwise 
thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not 
in unbelief, shall be grafted in : for God is able to graft them 
in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which 
is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a 
good Olive Tree : how much more shall these which are the 
natural branches, be grafted into their own Olive Tree ? " 

By many able critics this passage has long been regarded 
as furnishing conclusive evidence of the general 

° , . . First hypothe- 

and essential identity of the Jewish and Christian sis in relation 

, , » -i • n , i • , to this passage. 

churches. And as many infants were, by virtue 
of their birth and parentage, members of the former ; even 
so, it is confidently inferred, that infants, simply by virtue 
of their Christian parentage, without any faith or intelligence 
on their part, may also become members of the latter. 

This is plausible ; but wholly at variance with many other 
portions of Scripture. In Hebrews viii: 6-13, Evidence of its 
for example, we learn that the covenants or con- fallaciousnes 3- 
stitutions of these two churches, would differ essentially in 
several respects : and that among other points of difference, 
this would be prominent : that all the subjects of the New Cov- 
enant, from the least of them to the greatest, would know the 
Lord : whereas, under the Old Covenant, many were always 
found who could not distinguish their right hand from their 
left; nor God from Beliel. This therefore is sufficient to 
disprove the alleged identity of the two churches, and to 
show the fallaciousness of the given hypothesis. 

But one extreme is apt to lead to another. Many in at- 
tempting to avoid Scylla have ran into Charyb- T]ie 8econdhy _ 
dis. This has often proved true in the various p° thesis - 
attempts that have been made to explain this beautiful pas- 
sage. Many, apparently for the purpose of avoiding the ex- 
treme of the pedobaptists have run into the opposite. They 
exclude from this beautiful allegory, the Jewish Church 



330 KEASON AND REVELATION. 

altogether. They make the good Olive Tree represent the 
Christian Church exclusively. They allege that the roots, 
and trunk, and primary branches were composed of the first 
Jewish converts ; and that the Gentiles were not grafted 
in until after that the Church had become a tree of wide- 
spreading branches. 

This hypothesis has also some apparent ingenuity. But 
Evidence of its this is all that can be said in its favor: for it is 
incorrectness, utterly inconsistent ivith the context, and especially 
with the scope of the passage under consideration. The object 
of the Apostle in introducing this allegory, was evidently to 
make the Gentile Christians feel their dependence on the 
Israelites as such; lest they should be wise in their own con- 
ceits. And any hypothesis, therefore, that is inconsistent 
with this main object of the argument, not to speak of other 
subordinate matters, is scarcely worthy of a passing notice. 
Evidently, then, Abraham and his seed according to the 
flesh, have not only a place, but the first place in this symbol- 
ical representation of God's chosen people. Otherwise, there 
is neither point, nor logic, nor sense in Paul's reasoning. 

How then can this passage be explained in harmony with 
other portions of Scripture, and with the main 

The obscurity r l . 

of the argu- scope of the Apostle s argument in this connec- 
™\Tm its S ab- m " ti° n ? The passage is confessedly a difficult one, 
stractness. owing chiefly to the very abstract nature of the 

argument which it contains. Nothing short of a very high 
degree of abstraction and generalization would have an- 
swered Paul's purpose in this case. 

Let us then briefly notice, in the first place, especially for 
illustration of the sake of my junior readers, the philosophy 
the philosophy f common terms. And for the sake of illus- 

of common 

terms. tration, let it be proposed to find a term that 

may be applied with equal propriety to a man or to a worm. 
For this purpose, we first analyze both, and note all their 



HERMEXEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 331 

properties, attributes, and accidents : and we will suppose 
that as the result of our analysis, in this case, the following 
elements are discovered : 

Man = a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, h, I, and m. 

Worm = b, I, m, n, o, p, and q. 

We next take simply those elements that are common to 
both, and give to them a common name, canceling and re- 
jecting all others. In this case we find b common to both ; 
and we will let it represent simply being or existence. AVe 
discover moreover, that I and m are common to both. Let 
the former represent life, and the latter voluntary motion. 
To these three elements then, we next give a name, say for 
instance animal, which is equally applicable to a man, and 
to a worm, and to all other beings having these three prop- 
erties. 

Now let us suppose that the two Churches are in like 
manner analyzed ; and that we have the follow- Limited iden- 

-i . tity of the two 

ing results : churches. 

Jewish Church = a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, and p. 

Christian Church = c, m, n, o, p, q, r, and s. 

Here then, for the sake of illustration, we will suppose 
that there are but two common elements : c and p. Let the 
latter represent people, and the former chosen or covenanted. 
To these two elements, we may now give any name that we 
choose; as for instance, God's chosen people ; God's covenant 
people ; or a good Olive Tree. If we use the last of these 
names, as Paul does, then indeed it is evident, not only that 
it is alike applicable to both Churches, but also that the good 
and cultivated Olive Tree has its roots in the patriarchs to 
whom the promises were made ; that the trunk and primary 
branches were composed of members of the Old Covenant ; 
and that the Gentile converts to Christianity must therefore 
of necessity occupy a very dependent position in this sym- 
bolical representation of God's elect. This is just what 



332 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Paul aims at in the course of his argument, and what he 
accomplishes in the most effective way possible. 

But be it observed, that as in the supposed case of the 
Fallacy of rea- man an d the worm, every thing not otherwise 
Boning from proved to be common, must be eliminated. It 

tins partial * y 

identity as if it will not do to reason from this very partial iden- 

were complete. •*»•> 1 i r> • -i 

tity as it it were a complete and perfect identity. 
It does not follow, because a man and a worm are both ani- 
mals, that they have therefore both reason, and a will, and a 
conscience. No more does it follow, because the Jewish and 
Christian Churches are both included under one symbolical 
name, that they are therefore in all respects indentical ; and 
that because there were infants in the former, there must there- 
fore of necessity be infants also in the latter. If this is true, 
it must be proved from other sources, and by other evidence. 

SECTION III.— Figurative Language. 

The preceding rules are of universal application. They 
serve to determine the meaning of all words and 

The preceding 

rules are uni- all sentences, whether they be used literally or fig- 
uratively. Indeed they furnish the only proper 
means by which we can determine whether a word, or a sen- 
tence, should be taken literally or figuratively. The general 
General Huie law is, that all words and sentences should be taken 
end and ngura- an d construed literally : unless this would imply 
tive language. SO me incongruity or absurdity, or involve a mean- 
ing that is inconsistent with the nature of the subject, or with 
the plain and evident meaning of other portions of Scripture. 
But these points can be determined only by a patient con- 
sideration and judicious application of the pre- 
mining these ceding rules. Let it be proposed, for example, 
to determine whether the following passages are 
to be taken literally or figuratively 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 333 

1. " If your enemy is hungry, feed him ; if he is thirsty, 
give him drink: for bv so doing, you ivill heap 

• t 7 /-r» .. v Illustrations. 

coals oj Jire on his head. (Romans xn: 20.) 

" He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal 

life." (Johnvi: 54.) 

" AVhen thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently 

what is before thee ; and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be 

a man given to appetite." (Proverbs xxiii : 2.) 

In each of these passages, the literal meaning involves a 

moral absurdity : and the metaphorical meaning is therefore 

to be preferred. 

2. " God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount 
Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was 
full of his p raise. And his brightness was as the light : he 
had horns coming out of his hand; and there was the hiding 
of his power. Before him went the pestilence ; and burning 
coals went forth at his feet." (Habakkuk iii : 3-5.) 

From John iv : 24, we learn that God is spirit. And hence 
all words that ascribe to him human form or physical organs 
of any kind are to be construed as metaphors ; or more par- 
ticularly, as that species of metaphor which is called anthro- 
pomorphism.. 

3. In Genesis vi : 6, it is said : " And it repented the Lord 
that he had made man on the earth ; and it grieved him at 
his heart." But in 1 Samuel xv : 29, the prophet assures 
us that " The Strength of Israel will not repent : for he is 
not a man that he should repent." In the word repent there- 
fore, as it is applied to Jehovah, in Genesis vi : 6, we have 
another species of metaphor, called anthropopathy. 

More on this subject would, I think, be unnecessary. By 
the proper study and application of these rules and princi- 
ples, the thoughtful student will generally be able to deter- 
mine, without much difficulty, whether a word or sentence 
should be construed literally or figuratively. But there are 



Illustration. 



334 REASON AND REVELATION. 

a few other matters pertaining to analogical language, on 
which I wish to add a few words. I refer particularly to 
other topics the principle of accommodation ; the principle of 
analogical lan- double reference ; and the nature, use, and proper 
guage. interpretation of the allegory and parable. We 

will consider these briefly in order. 

I. By the Principle of Accommodation is meant that law 

p • • i f an< ^ li cense fy which the words of a passage are 

Accommoda- frequently used in a sense that was not originally 

intended : but they are applied to some new object, 

simply on account of their peculiar fitness to describe it. 

A beautiful illustration of this principle is found in Ro- 
mans x : 6-8. But the original words are given 
in Deuteronomy xxx : 11-14, as follows: "For 
this commandment which I command thee this day, is not 
hidden from thee ; neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, 
that thou shouldst say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and 
bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it? Neither is it 
beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who shcdl go over the 
sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do 
it? But the word is very nigh thee; in thy mouth, and in thy 
heart, that thou may est do it." 

In these words, Moses had evidently no other purpose, 
than simply to remind his brethren, the children of Israel, 
that they had there and then, in their possession, a perfect 
rule of life : and that it was therefore not necessary for them 
to travel, as did many of the heathen philosophers, from city 
to city ; and from country to country, in quest of wisdom. 
The Law in their heart and in their mouth, was to be their 
guide of life. 

But Paul makes use of some of these expressions to illus- 
trate the still greater plainness and simplicity of the Gospel. 
"But the righteousness which is of faith/' he says, "speak- 
eth on this wise : Say not in thy heart, Wk® shall ascend into 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 335 

heaven ? that is, to bring Christ clown from above : or who 
shall descend into the deep? that is, to bring up Christ again 
from the dead. But what saith it ? The word is nigh thee, 
even in thy mouth and in thy heart : that is the word of faith 
which we preach; that if thou wilt confess with thy mouth the 
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised 
h im from the dead, thou shalt be saved. v (Compare also Psalm 
xix: 4 with Romans x: 18.) 

II. The Principle of Double Reference differs from the 
Principle of Accommodation, in this respect; Princi p le 
that it always implies an intentional reference to of Double 

Reference 

a second object. The words are so selected and 
the sentences are so framed by the Holy Spirit, that they serve 
to describe alike both the type and the antitype. This princi- 
ple occurs very frequently, especially in the Old Testament. 
The following may be given as examples and illustrations 
of it: 

1. Several of God's promises to Abraham. They refer to 
both the families of which he was made the father and the 
founder: to his natural and also to his spiritual posterity; 
to his seed which was according to the flesh, and also to his 
seed which was according to the promise. (Compare, for in- 
stance, Genesis xvii : 4-7 with Romans iv : 11-16.) 

2. Many of the Psalms of David. The seventy-second, 
for example, refers primarily to the reign of Solomon ; and 
secondarily to the reign of Christ. 

3. Many of the later prophecies. (Compare, for example, 
Isaiah vii : 14-16, and also viii: 1-4, with Matthew i: 22, 
23; Jeremiah xxxi: 15 with Matthew ii: 17, 18; and Ho- 
sea xi : 1 with Matthew ii: 15.) 

III. To give a strictly logical definition of an Allegory 
and a Parable in the present vague state of our religious lit- 
erature, is not an easy matter. But perhaps the following 
definitions are as well adapted to the popnlar mind and as 



336 REASON AND REVELATION. 

free from metaphysical objections as any that can now be 
given. 

An Allegory (akhpfopia from a?.Xo?, other, and ayopeuco, to 
Definition of speak) is a phrase, a sentence, or a discourse, in 
an Allegory. which the principal subject is described by an- 
other which resembles it: or it is a representation of one 
thing, which is intended to excite in the mind of the reader 
or hearer the representation of another thing. The first or 
immediate representation is called the protasis : and the sec- 
ond or ultimate representation is called the apodosis 

A Parable (rrapa^ohj from napa, beside, and fiollco, to throw) 
Definition of a i s that species of allegory, in which the protasis is 
Parable. a ser i ous narration, within the limits of probabil- 

ity, and designed to illustrate some moral or religious truth. 

In both of these figures, then, it will be observed, there 
Keiation on is an expressed or implied comparison, either di- 
gories ai- e a re( & or indirect. The object to be explained and 
founded. illustrated is compared with some other well- 

known and familiar object which it resembles, or to which 
it is in some way analogous, for the purpose of expressing a 
higher degree of perspicuity, or beauty, or energy. And 
hence it follows that in the interpretation of every allegory, 
and especially of every parable, three things require our very 
special attention and consideration : 
objects to be *• The illustrating example. 

considered in 2. The object to be illustrated. 

the interpreta- , . 

tion of parables 3. 1 he similitude existing between them : or 
the tertium comparationis, as it has been techni- 
cally called. 

From the data thus furnished, the scope or main design 
How the scope of the parable or allegory, may be generally in- 
tobe'asctr- 18 ferred without much doubt or difficulty. For 
tained. instance, after the student shall have thus care- 

fully examined the Parable of the Sower in Matthew xiii : 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 337 

1-9, he will readily perceive that its scope is to show that 
the fruits of the Gospel or the word preached, 

, ,. , n Illustrations. 

depend on the state and condition of the hearts of 
those who hear it. And by the same threefold process, he 
will see that the object of Christ in the Parable of the Dar- 
nel of the field (Matthew xiii: 24-30), is simply to warn his 
disciples and especially the Overseers of his Church, against 
an extreme degree of discipline ; or an attempt to discriminate 
between persons and characters here as God himself will dis- 
criminate hereafter.* 

I will give with all possible brevity, the scope of a few 
other parables, as a help and encouragement to such young 
persons as may desire to make further progress in this very 
interesting department of Sacred Hermeneutics. 

1. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew xiii: 31, 
32). Scope : The great outward enlargement of Miscellaneous 
the Church. (Compare Daniel ii: 35.) examples. 

2. Parable of the Leaven (Matthew xiii: 33). Scope: The 
inner workings and assimilating power of the Gospel. 

3. Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matthew xiii : 44). 
Scopje: The joyful effects of the Kingdom. 

4. Parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew xiii : 45, 
46). Scope: The zeal and the sacrifices that should be made 
in order to secure the blessings of the Kingdom. 

5. Parable of the Drag-net (Matthew xiii : 47-50). Scope: 
The good and the bad, now nominally existing and living to- 
gether in the Church, will be finally and forever separated. 

* Some have hastily inferred from this parable, that all discipline is 
forbidden as injurious to the growth and prosperity of the Church. But 
surely it does not follow, because the darnel was allowed to remain in the 
field, that therefore burdocks, thistles, and every other kind of noxious 
weed should also be allowed to remain there to the great injury of the 
wheat. There is nothing therefore in the parable, that forbids the exer- 
cise of church discipline within proper limits. The leper was always to 
be separated from the camp of Israel. (Leviticus xiii.) 

22 



338 REASON AND REVELATION. 

6. Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew xviii: 23- 
35). Scope: The imperative and indispensable duty of every 
one's forgiving the trespasses of his brethren. 

7. Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew xx : 
1-16). Scope: All Christians will be rewarded. But this 
reward will be given not as a matter of debt, but of grace. 
And hence even those who labor most, if they do so, with 
the hope and expectation of meriting salvation by their own 
works of righteousness, will in the end be disappointed, and 
fail at last of eternal life. 

8. Parable of the Vineyard let out to Husbandmen (Mat- 
thew xxi : 33-44). Scope: The Jews to be rejected as a peo- 
ple, on account of their rejecting and killing God's prophets, 
and finally his own Son. 

9. Parable of the Marriage of the King's Son (Matthew 
xxii : 1-14). Scope: Call of all classes, both Jews and Gen- 
tiles, to a participation of the blessings of the Gospel 

10. Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew xxv: 1-13). 
Scope: Necessity of all the followers of Christ being ever 
watchful and ready for his coming ; whether providential or 
personal. 

11. Parable of the Talents (Matthew xxv: 14-30). Scope: 
Christ will hold all men personally responsible for whatever 
talents he has committed to their charge. 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 339 



CHAPTER IV. 

ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 

HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES. 

I will merely state these; and leave it to the reader to 
consider them fully and in detail. 

I. QuiSy who? Paul was the writer, and the Roman 
Christians were the persons addressed. 
II. Quid, what? Didactic and argumentative prose. 

III. Ubiy where? At Corinth. 

IV. Quibus auxiliis, with what helps ? Paul's own agency ; 
the aid of Tertius as his amanuensis; and the agency 
of the Holy Spirit. 

V. Our, why? For the edification of the Church of 

Rome. 
VI. Quomodo, how? Naturally, providentially, and mi- 
raculously. 
VII. Quando,when? A. D. 57. 

GENERAL DIVISION OF THE EPISTLE. 

PART I.— Introduction, (i: 17.) 
PART II.— Argumentative, (i : 18— xi.) 
Chapter I. — Justification, (i: 18 — v.) 
Chapter II. — Sanctification, Redemption, and Glori- 
fication, (vi — viii.) 
Chapter III. — God's dealings with the Jews as a 
people, (ix — xi.) 



340 REASON AND REVELATION. 

PAET III.— Practical, (xii— xv : 13.) 
PAET IV.— Conclusion, (xv : 14— xvi.) 

SPECIAL ANALYSIS. 
PART I. Introduction, (i: 1-17.) 

Section I. PauVs Salutation, (i : 1-7.) 

1. Paul's personal relations to Christ. (V. 1.) 

2. His official relations to the Gospel. (V. 1.) 

3. The origin and proclamation of the Gospel. (Y. 1, 2.) 

4. This Gospel respects the twofold nature of Christ. 

(V. 3, 4.) 

5. Purpose and object for which Paul had been set apart to 

the Gospel. (V. 5.) 

6. His prayer for all the Roman saints. (Y. 7.) 

Section II. PauVs deep interest in and for the Church of 

Rome. (V. 8-13.) 

This he manifests in several ways — 

1. By his gratitude to God for their fidelity. (Y. 8.) 

2. By his prayers in their behalf. (V. 9.) 

3. By his great desire to visit them for their edification. 

(V. 10-13.) 

Section III. PauVs great confidence in the Gospel. 
(Y. 14-17.) 
This is shown — 

1. By his readiness and willingness to preach it to all. 

(Y. 14, 15.) 

2. In his avowed conviction that it is the power of God for 

the salvation of all true believers. (Y. 16, 17.) 

PART II. Argumentative, (i: 18 — xi.) 
Chapter I. Justification, (i : 18 — v.) 



HERMENEUTTCS AND EXEGESIS. 341 

Section I. The Gentiles ad condemned on the ground of the 
Legal Scheme of Justification, (i : 18-32.) 

1. In verse sixteenth, we have Paul's general thesis. 

2. In the seventeenth verse, we have given his first sub- 

thesis. Justification is here taken up merely as the 
first element of the salvation spoken of in the sixteenth 
verse. 

3. Between the seventeenth and eighteenth verses, there is 

an ellipsis, in which it is implied, 

(1) That there are but two conceivable schemes of Justifi- 

cation ; viz. : 

(a) That which is by and through works of law. 

(b) That which is by grace, through faith. 

(2) It is implied, that though the former is conceivable, it is 

utterly impracticable. 

4. From this assumed stand-point, the Apostle now proceeds 

with his argument. That it is wholly impracticable, 
he argues, 
I. Because God has clearly revealed and indicated his pur- 
pose to punish all transgressors of his law. (V. 18.) 
II. Because that all men, even the heathen, are responsible, 
through the revelation that God has made to them of 
himself. (V. 19, 20.) 

III. Because the heathen have all perverted this knowl- 
edge; and acted unworthy of the light and privileges 
they enjoyed. (V. 21, 23.) 

TV. And hence God has abandoned them, and given them 
up to indulge in the most abominable and degrading 
vices. (V. 24-32.) 

Conclusion. Hence it is implied that all such persons are 
condemned, by law : and if saved at all, it must be by 
grace through faith. 



342 REASON AND REVELATION. 

Section II. Discussion of some general 'principles of the Di- 
vine government and administration; looking, however, 
chiefly to the Jews, (ii : 1-16.) 
I. The man who draws the aforesaid conclusion, is self- 
condemned. (V. 1.) 
II. God's judgments on all men will be according to truth : 
i. e., according to all the circumstances and the reality 
of each case, without any respect of persons. (V. 2.) 
Implied Objection. God does not now so judge all men. 

III. True: God is now long-suffering; and to our imper- 
fect reason, perhaps apparently partial. But all this 
is really for wise and benevolent purposes: he being 
anxious that all, if possible, should be brought to re- 
pentance. And hence he has given us a time of pro- 
bation. (V. 3-5.) 

IV. But nevertheless, the day is coming when every man 
will be rewarded according to his works, implying the 
most exact estimate of all the light and privileges that 
he enjoyed. (V. 6-12, 16.) 

Implied Objection. We Jews have the Law in our posses- 
sion : besides many other evidences of God's special favor. 
V. True indeed : but it is not merely having law, but obey- 
ing it, that justifies a man and secures the favor of 
God. For the Gentiles have law as well as the Jews ; 
so that if having law justifies a man before God, then 
indeed the whole Gentile world will be justified. The 
argument proves too much ; and therefore proves noth- 
ing. (Y. 13-15.) 

Section III. The Jews are also all and severally condemned 
on the ground of the Legal Scheme of Justification. 
(ii: 17— iii: 20.) 
I. That the Jews are all transgressors of law, is proved 
chiefly in two ways : 



HERMENEUTTCS AND EXEGESIS. 343 

1. By appealing to their own consciousness, (ii : 17-23.) 

2. By the testimony of their own Scriptures. (V. 24.) 

II. Implied Inference. The Jews as well as the Gen- 
tiles are therefore all condemned according to law. 

III. Implied Objection. The Jews may expect and claim 
some special favor, on the ground of their being cir- 
cumcised. 

IV. Answer, (ii: 25-29.) 

1. The circumcision of the flesh is a part of the Legal 

Scheme of Justification ; and can of course be of value 
to any one only as such. 

2. The only circumcision that is now of any avail, is the 

circumcision of the heart. (See also Ephesians i: 14; 
Philippians iii: 3; Colossians ii : 11.) 
V. Statement and refutation of sundry Jewish objections, 
(iii: 1-8.) 

1. This reasoning seems to give to the Jews no advantage 

over the Gentiles. (V. 1.) 
Answer. Not so : their advantages over the Gentiles are 
still very great ; especially in their having the Oracles 
of God. (V. 2.) 

2. But if some of the Jews have been unfaithful, must God 

too be unfaithful in fulfilling his promises made abso- 
lutely and unconditionally to Abraham? (See, for ex- 
ample, Genesis xvii: 7.) 
Answer. Certainly not. God's fidelity must not be called 
into question, in any event. It is blasphemy to do so: 
and such objections are not to be considered. (V. 4. 
See Psalm li: 4.) 

3. But as our injustice serves to commend God's scheme of 

justification by faith, would it not be unjust in God to 
take vengeance on us? (V. 5.) 
Answer. Certainly not: for if this were true, he could 
judge neither Jews nor Gentiles. (V. 6.) 



344 REASON AND REVELATION. 

4. But if God's truth has abounded through my falsehood, 
why should I be treated as a sinner? Should not my 
sins be allowed to pass, at least with impunity, as so 
much good has resulted from them ? (V. 7.) 

Answer. And why not add, in order at once to cap the 
climax of your wicked speculations, Let us do evil that 
good may come ! (V. 8.) 
VI. Amplification and confirmation of the argument 
against the possibility of being justified by law, drawn 
from the Scriptures of the Old Testament, (iii : 9-18.) 
VII. These Scriptures have all special reference to the 
Jews. (V. 19.) 

VIII. General Conclusion : By works of law there- 
fore neither Jew nor Gentile can be justified. 
(V. 20.) 

Section IV. Exposition of the Gospel Scheme of Justifica- 
tion, (v : 21-31.) 

1. It is of God. (V. 21.) 

2. It is without works of law. (V. 21.) 

3. It is well sustained by evidence. (V. 21.) 

4. It is through the faith of Jesus Christ. (V. 22.) 

5. It is provided for all. (V. 22.) 

6. It is upon all believers : i. e. y it is enjoyed by all such. 

(V. 22.) 

7. It is wholly gratuitous. (V. 24.) 

8. It comes to us through the propitiation of Christ. (V. 

24.) 

9. It meets and fully satisfies all the demands of law and 
justice in our behalf; and vindicates the justice of God's 
administration and government over man. (V. 25, 26.) 

10. It excludes all boasting. (V. 27.) 

11. It justifies all, whether Jews or Gentiles, on the same 
ground. (V. 28-30.) 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 345 

12. It magnifies God's law, and makes it honorable in the 
sight of an intelligent, adoring, and admiring universe. 
(V. 31.) 

Section V. The Case of Abraham, (iv.) 

I. Did not Abraham obtain something on the ground of 
Legal Justification? (V. 1.) 
Answer. Xothing whatever; he, like others, was saved by- 
grace through faith. This is proved 

(1) By what was said in Romans iii : 27. After a propo- 

sition has been once proved, it may afterward be legit- 
imately used in evidence. 

(2) By what is recorded in Genesis xv : 6. 

II. Implied Objection. But may not Abraham have 
been justified partly by the Legal and partly by the 
Gracious Scheme? 
Answer. Impossible. The two schemes can not be blended 
together in any case. This is proved, 

1. From their own essential and intrinsic difference. (V. 

4-6.) 

2. From the evidence of Scripture. (Psalm xxxii: 1.) 

III. Implied Objection. May not circumcision have 
been at least a condition of Abraham's justification ? 

Answer. Impossible : for he was justified before he was 
circumcised. (V. 9-12.) 

IV. Besides, the fact that Abraham and his seed were made 
heirs of the world, is a proof that it never was God's 
purpose to justify men by works of law. (V. 13-17.) 
This is evident from several considerations. 

1. Had it been otherwise, the scheme of justification by 

grace through faith would have been useless and super- 
fluous. 

2. Law always serves to make those living under it, more 

and more guilty. 



346 REASON AND REVELATION. 

3. And hence it follows that the scheme of justification by- 

grace through faith, is the only one that is consistent 
with God's promise to Abraham. 

4. Hence it also follows that all are Abraham's seed, who 

possess his faith. 
Y. Characteristics of Abraham's faith. (V. 18-22.) 

1. It rested wholly and exclusively on the promises of God. 

2. It was very strong and unwavering. 

VI. The case of Abraham was recorded for an example and 
encouragement to us. (V. 23-25.) 

Section VI. Fruits and Consequences of being Justified by 
Faith, (v: 1-11.) 

1. We have peace with God. (V. 1.) 

2. We enjoy all the blessings and privileges of the kingdom 

that now is. (V. 2.) 

3. We are enabled to glory in our present tribulations. (V. 3.) 

4. We have a well-grounded hope of enjoying still higher 

honors and privileges. (V. 2, 4-10.) 

5. We rejoice in all the attributes and perfections of God, 

by means of Jesus Christ, through whom we have re- 
ceived all that is necessary in order to our being recon- 
ciled to God. (V. 11.) 

Note. — In the Scheme of Redemption we have 

1. The sacrifice of Christ. 

2. His offering for sin. 

3. The atonement, or the satisfaction rendered by means of 

this offering to the demands and requirements of law 
and j ustice. 

4. Propitiation. This respects God alone. 

5. Reconciliation. This respects man alone. We loved 

God because he first loved us. (1 John iv : 19.) 

6. Expiation or the forgiveness of sin. 



HEIOIEXEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 347 

7. Justification ; which implies that we are treated and dealt 

with as just persons; as if we had never sinned. 

8. Sanctification, as it respects both our state and our char- 

acter. 

9. The redemption of our bodies from the grave. 

10. Glorification in heaven. 

11. Everlasting salvation. 

The word xaz a)Xo.yr h reconciliation, in verse 11th seems to 
be a " vox pregnane" (See the following section.) 

Section VII. The super abounding fullness of this xaraX?>apj f 
or Scheme of Reconciliation, Expiation, Justification, and 
Redemption that we enjoy through Jesus Christ. (v : 
12-21.) This is shown in two ways. 

I. By its power and efficacy in saving all men, (even infants 
and idiots,) unconditionally, from all the effects and con- 
sequences of Adam's original transgression. (V. 12-19.) 

1. All mankind, infants as well as adults, die through Adam, 
because through him they have all become sinful, 
(a/taprcoXoe.) (V. 12, 18, 19.) 

[Digression. — From the thirteenth to the seventeenth 
verses inclusive, we have a slight digression from the main 
line of argument, introduced for the purpose of sustaining 
and further amplifying the main thought of the twelfth verse. 
It contains the following subordinate items : 

(1) Even during the Patriarchal Age, for example, when 

mankind were comparatively without law, men died, 
and even infants and idiots died who had never sinned 
in their own persons, as did Adam. 

(2) And hence it follows that these persons must have all 

sinned in and through Adam. And hence also it fol- 
lows that Adam was a type of Christ : for the acts of 
both had an influence over the entire human race. 



348 REASON AND REVELATION. 

(3) But their acts have affected the race very differently. 
For 

(a) The act of Adam brought death upon all men ; but the 

act of Christ gives life to all men. 

(b) The act of Christ reaches far beyond the original sinful 

act of Adam, and provides for the expiation of many 
other personal offenses. 

(c) It also secures to the redeemed higher degrees of glory, 

and honor, and happiness than we lost in Adam.] 
2. The eighteenth and nineteenth verses stand logically con- 
nected with the twelfth. The argument of the Apostle 
runs thus : As by one act of Adam, the many, i. e., his 
whole posterity, without any agency on their part, were 
made sinners {kfiapTcoXol xareazadrjoav be tioXXol) ; even 
so, by one act of Christ, the same persons, without any 
agency on their part, will be made just (dtxaeoe) ; and 
consequently saved from all the effects and consequences 
of Adam's original transgression. (V. 18, 19.) 
Note. — The reader will observe that this final and perfect 
deliverance of our entire race, from all the effects of 
Adam's original transgression, has respect not merely 
to our bodies, but also to our spirits. For the words 
LfiapTOiXoi and orxaco't are not predicable of matter. 
And hence this is perhaps the strongest and fullest 
guarantee given in the whole Bible, that all who die 
in their infancy, or before they incur the guilt of sin 
through their own personal transgressions, will be ever- 
lastingly saved through the redemption that is in Christ 
Jesus. 
II. The superabounding fullness of this Gospel Scheme of 
reconciliation and justification, further shown and illus- 
trated by the provisions therein contained for the con- 
ditional pardon of all our personal transgressions. (V. 
20, 21.) The conditions are not here stated, but evi- 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 349 

dently implied. So that when we stand before the great 
white throne, it will be, to be judged for the deeds done 
in our own bodies. (See 2 Corinthians v : 10 ; Reve- 
lation xx : 12, 13.) 

Chapter II. — Sanctification, Redemption, and Glo- 
rification, (vi-viii.) 

Section I. The Profession of Christianity implies the neces- 
sity of a holy life, (vi: 1-14.) 

I. Objection. This scheme has too much grace in it. It 
serves as a license and encouragement to sin. (V. 1.) 

II. Answer. Impossible : the very reverse of this is im- 
plied, 

1. In our death to sin. (V. 2, 3.) 

2. In our resurrection to a new life. (V. 4.) 

3. In our close and intimate union with Christ. (V. 5.) 

4. In the crucifixion of our old man. (V. 6.) 

5. In our being delivered from Sin as our master. (V. 7.) 

6. In the example of Christ which we have received as our 

rule of life. (V. 8-11.) 
III. Exhortation and encouragement to holiness. (vi : 
12-14. 

Section II. Our present state of favor furnishes new incen- 
tives to holiness, (vi: 15 ; vii : 6.) 

I. Antinomian Objection. May we not sin therefore as 
much as we please because we are not under law but 
under grace. (V. 15.) 
II. Answer. Certainly not ; for the following reasons : 
1. Because this would be inconsistent with our new relations 
and obligations as the servants of Righteousness. (V. 
16-19.) 



350 REASON AND REVELATION. 

2. Because the fruits and consequences of Sin, tend always 

to death : but the fruits of Righteousness tend always 
to life. (Y. 20-23.) 

3. Because we were delivered from the Law and placed in 

our present state of favor for the very purpose of en- 
abling us to become holy, (vii : 1-6.) 

Section III. The impossibility of attaining to holiness lender 
law, proved and illustrated, while considering and re- 
futing two Jewish objections, (vii : 7-25.) 

I. Objection First. Is not the tendency of this reason- 
ing to prove that the Law is sinful ? (V. 7.) 
II. Answer. Certainly not. But, 

1. The knowledge of sin comes through law. (V. 7.) 

2. The Law by attempting to restrain our evil passions, 

really only serves to excite them, and render them the 
more active. (V. 8-11.) 

3. And hence, although the Law is holy, it really becomes 

the occasion of death, by giving life and energy to sin. 
(V. 12.) 

III. Objection Second. Can a good law become the cause 
of death? (V. 13.) 

IV. Answer. Certainly not. For, 

1. Sin is the cause of death. (V. 13.) 

2. But, nevertheless, God has allowed Sin to work out this 

evil result, through a good instrumentality, in order to 
demonstrate the more impressively, its exceeding sin- 
fulness. (V. 13.) 

3. The Law has no power to deliver any one from his state 

of guilt and bondage under the tyrant Sin. (V. 14-24.) 

4. And hence it is impossible for any man to attain to holi- 

ness under law, as a rule of justification and sanctifica- 
tion. 



HERMEXEUTTCS AND EXEGESIS. 351 

Note. — In this section, Paul, in imagination, separates him- 
self wholly from the Gospel and all its gracious and 
redeeming influences, in order that he may the more 
effectually and impressively illustrate the power and 
dominion of Sin in the heart of every man, who is with- 
out the sustaining grace of God through Jesus Christ 
and the quickening and sanctifying influence of the 
Holy Spirit. 

Section IV. The possibility of attaining to holiness under 
the Gospel, (viii: 1-11.) 

Under this head, Paul argues, 

I. That the Gospel has freed us from the rule, power, 
and dominion of Sin which is in our members. (V. 
1, 2.) _ 
II. That it has effected this, by and through the sin- 
offering of Christ. (V. 3.) 

III. That God's object in all this is to enable us to keep 
the requirements of the Law. (V. 4.) 

IV. That the animus or mind of the Flesh, under any sys- 
tem, tends ahvays to death : but the animus or mind of 
the Spirit is always to life and peace. (V. 5-8.) 

V. And hence that if the Spirit of God dwells in us, all is 
well. In that case, even this mortal body will finally 
become immortal. (V. 9-11.) 

Section V. An exhortation to walk according to the Spirit. 
(V. 12-17.) 
This the Apostle urges, 
I. On the ground that we have been freed from the flesh. 

(V. 12.) 
II. That the consequence of walking according to the flesh 
is death. (V. 13.) 



352 REASON AND REVELATION. 

III. That the consequence of walking according to the Spirit 

is life and peace. (Y. 13.) 
IY. That we are now the sons of God. (V. 14-16.) The 

evidence of this is threefold : 

1. That of our being led by the Spirit of God. 

2. That of our having the Spirit of adoption. 

3. That of the Spirit, as it testifies with our spirits that we 

are the children of God. This testimony is given in 
two ways. 

(1) Directly, by and through the written word. 

(2) Indirectly, by its effects and fruits in our hearts and 

lives. (Gal. v: 22.) 
Y. That we are also the heirs of God, if we faithfully 
endure sufferings with and for the sake of Christ. 
(V. 17.) 

Section IY. Encouragements to endure sufferings. 
(Y. 18-39.) 

I. The first of these is drawn from the consideration, that 
our present sufferings are nothing compared with the 
glory that awaits us. And in order to heighten and 
intensify this motive, the Apostle represents this whole 
Mundane system, as longing and sighing after the glo- 
rified state. (Y. 18-25.) 
II. The second ground of encouragement is drawn from 
the assistance that is given to us by the Holy Spirit. 
(Y. 26, 27.) 

III. From the purposes and fore-ordination of God, that all 
things must work together for the good of those that 
love him. (Y. 28-30.) 

IY. From the infinite love, and power, and goodness of 
God, that are all pledged for the security and final tri- 
umphs of his faithful and obedient children. (Y. 31- 
39.) 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 353 

Chapter III. God's dealings with the Jews as a 
People, (ix — xi.) 

Section I. The scope of this section is to vindicate GocVs jus- 
tice ana 1 fidelity in rejecting Israel as a nation, (ix : 1-33.) 

I. Paul begins the discussion with an expression of his 
great sorrow and sympathy for the Jews. (V. 1-5.) 
This he felt deeply for two reasons : 

1. Because he was once in their condition, an enemy to 

Christ and his cause. This was in Paul's estimation 
the same as being accursed from God. (V. 3.) 

2. Because of their former religious privileges : and their very 

important agency and services in the work of redemption. 
II. He shows contrary to an objection urged in iii : 3, that 
their rejection implies no failure of God's promises to 
Abraham respecting his seed, in such passages as Gen- 
esis xvii: 7. (V. 6-13.) 

1. Because Abraham was the father of two families: the 

first according to the flesh ; and the second according to 
the Spirit and promise of God. 

2. That the promises referred to by the Jews, had reference 

to the latter, and not to the former of these two fam- 
ilies, is proved, 

(1) By the rejection of Ishmael. 

(2) By the rejection of Esau. 

III. Objection. Does not this imply that there is un- 
righteousness or partiality with God. (V. 14.) 

IV. Answer. Certainly not. It only implies God's abso- 
lute sovereignty, and his right to deal with all sinners 
as he wills. (V. 14-18.) 

V. Objection. This being the case, God should no longer 
find fault : for on this hypothesis, all men are but pas- 
sive instruments in his hands. (V. 19.) 
23 



354 REASON AND REVELATION. 

VI. This objection Paul meets and refutes. (V. 19-29.) 

1. By showing how very wicked and unbecoming such an 

objection is. (V. 20, 21.) 

2. That God has always exercised his sovereignty in love, 

and with much forbearance toward even the wicked and 
undeserving. (V. 22-24.) 

3. That the rejection of the Jews on account of their infi- 

delity, and the calling of the Gentiles, had been long 
and clearly foretold by their own prophets. (V. 25-29.) 
VII. The conclusion is therefore, that all who voluntarily 
accept of justification by faith are saved: and that all 
others are rejected. Here then is free agency, and here 
is accountability. (V. 30-33.) 
VIII. Remarks. 

1. This whole discussion has reference to man simply as he 

is — a lost and fallen sinner. 

2. All apparently arbitrary distinctions between Jews and 

Gentiles, had reference merely to certain temporal ar- 
rangements, designed for the good of all. 

Section II. The scope of this section is to show the ground 
on which the Israelites were rejected, (x: 1-21.) 

I. Paul again expresses his sympathy for the Jews. 
(V. 1.) 
II. Their great error was their ignorance of God's scheme 
of justification by faith. (V. 2, 3.) 
III. The end of the law with respect to justification is 
attainable only through Christ. (V. 4-13.) For, 

1. As has already been proved in the first Chapter of the 

Second Part, a compliance with the legal conditions of 
justification is impossible. (V. 5.) 

2. But the conditions of the Gospel plan, are plain, simple, 

and accessible to all. (V. 6-13.) 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 355 

IY. But hence follows the necessity of preaching the Gos- 
pel to all. (V. 14-17.) 
Y. Implied Objection. The Jews should not therefore 
be rejected nor condemned, until at least after they shall 
have heard the Gospel. 

YI. True, says Paul ; but they have already generally heard 
it 

1. Through the preachers of the Gospel. (Y. 18.) 

2. Through their own prophets. (Y. 19-21.) 

Section III. Israel's rejection is neither total nor final. 
(xi: 1-36.) 

I. It is not total. (Y. 1-10.) 

1. Because Paul himself and many other Jews were saved. 

2. But their salvation was of grace. 

3. The rest were blinded as their own prophets had pre- 

dicted. 
II. Their rejection is not final. (Y. 11-32.) This is ren- 
dered probable from the following considerations : 

1. Their rejection was for the benefit of the world. (Y. 11.) 

2. Their conversion would have a powerful influence for 

good on the whole Gentile world. (Y. 12-15.) 

3. As a part of them had been saved, it follows that all of 

them may be saved. (Y. 1G.) 

4. This is rendered still more probable, on the ground of 

their natural affinity to* the church. (Y. 17-24.) 

5. The Apostle closes his argument by assuring us, that in 

the fullness of time, the Israelites will generally be con- 
verted to Christ, and saved through him. (Y. 25-32.) 
III. Conclusion of the ivhole argument. How wonderfully 
are God's attributes and perfections displayed and illus- 
trated in, and by, and through this Scheme of Redemp- 
tion ! (Y. 33-36.) 



356 REASON AND REVELATION. 

PART III. Exhortations and encouragements to 

THE FAITHFUL DISCHARGE OF ALL OUR DUTIES. 

(xii— xv : 13.) 

Section I. Our duties to God and to the brotherhood. 

(xii: 1-21.) 
1. Exhortation to a full personal consecration of ourselves 
to God. (V. 1, 2.) 
II. Exhortation to be humble, and to serve one another, as 
members of the one body. (V. 3-5.) 

III. Exhortation to act diligently and faithfully in whatever 
position or capacity we can be most useful. (V. 6-8.) 

IV. Exhortation to cherish certain social virtues, and to dis- 
charge faithfully sundry social duties. (V. 9-12.) 

Section II. Our duties to Society, (xiii : 1-14.) 
I. An exhortation to respect and obey civil magistrates. 
(V. 1-7.) 
II. An exhortation to so love our neighbor, including our 
greatest enemies, as to fulfill the whole law. Thus 
Christians should live above the fear of punishment. 
(V. 8-10.) 
III. An exhortation to higher degrees of holiness, and the 
prompt and faithful discharge of all the aforesaid social 
duties, drawn from the advanced period of our Christian 
life, and the near approach of the eternal day. (V. 1 1-13.) 

Section III. The duties and obligations oj Christians to each 

other, in reference to matters that are in themselves neither 

right nor wrong; neither good nor evil, (xix — xv : 13.) 

I. The weak in faith should not be harshly condemned. 

(Y. 1-12.) 

1. Because God has accepted him. (V. 3.) 

2. Because it is really not the right nor the prerogative of 

any one to do so. (V. 4, 10.) 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 357 

3. Because the weak brother acts conscientiously out of re- 

spect to God. (V. 6.) 

4. Because our relations and obligations to God, make the 

right of private judgment necessary. (V. 7-12.) 
II. The liberty of the Gospel should not be used to the in- 
jury of others. (Y. 13-23.) This would be inconsistent 

1. With the law of love. (V. 13-15.) 

2. With the honor of religion. (V. 16.) 

3. With the object of the Kingdom. (V. 17.) 

4. With the duty of mutual edification. (V. 19.) 

5. With the rights of conscience. (V. 22, 23.) 

III. The duty of mutual forbearance, love, and Christian 
unity, still further enforced and illustrated by the ex- 
ample of Christ and the teachings of the Old Testament, 
(xv: 1-13.) 

PART IV. Conclusion, (xv : 14— xvi.) 

Section I. Sundry personal matters, (xv : 14-33.) 
I. Paul's great confidence in the Roman brethren. (V. 14.) 
II. His reason for writing to them so boldly. (V. 15, 16.) 

III. His labors as an Apostle. (V. 17-21.) 

IV. His purpose to visit them after his mission to Jerusa- 

lem. (V. 22-29.) 
V. He requests their prayers in his behalf. (V. 30-32.) 
VI. His benediction. (V. 33.) 

Section II. Sundry commendations, warnings, and 
salutations, (xvi : 1-27.) 
I. Commendation of Phebe. (V. 1, 2.) 
II. Salutations addressed to members of the Church of 
Rome. (V. 3-16.) 
III. Warnings against those who disturb the peace, and 
unity, and harmony of the Church. (V. 17-20.) 



358 REASON AND REVELATION. 

IV. Salutations of Paul's companions, with his own re- 
peated benediction. (V. 21-24.) 
V. Doxology. (V. 25-27.) 



CHAPTER V. 

ANALYSIS OP THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 

GENERAL SCOPE. 

The main object of Paul in this Epistle, is to persuade his 
Hebrew brethren in Christ, to persevere in their begun Chris- 
tian course. For this purpose, he presents to them the many 
and great obligations they were under to Christ ; the many 
encouragements they had to serve him ; and the dreadful 
consequences of apostacy from him. 

The chief danger of the Hebrew Christians arose from 
the seductive influence of Judaizing teachers. And hence 
it is, that throughout the whole epistle, there is kept up an 
almost constant contrast between Judaism and Christianity ; 
and the infinite superiority of the latter, set forth and illus- 
trated by a great variety of the most convincing and per- 
suasive arguments. 

SPECIAL ANALYSIS. 

The whole epistle may be conveniently divided into the 
following chapters and subordinate sections : 

Chapter I. Motives drawn from the Divine nature, dignity 
and glory of Christ, (i — ii : 4.) 

In the development of this subject, the following points 
are made, and more or less fully illustrated : 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 359 

1. The former revelations had been variously made through 

the Old Testament prophets, as God's ordinary ambas- 
sadors. But the revelation of the Gospel Scheme was 
made by his own Son. (Y. 1.) 

2. The Divine glory, and honor, and dignity of this Son. 

(V. 2, 3.) 

3. Amplification of the same thought, by a comparison of 

Christ with angels. (V. 4-14.) 

4. Conclusion from the premises submitted, (ii : 1-4.) 

Chapter II. Motives drawn from Christ's identity with as; 

and his labors, sufferings, and sympathies for us. (ii : 

5-18.) 
The leading idea of this chapter, is Christ's oneness with 
us. And the reasons assigned for his assuming our nature 
are as follows : 

1. That he might suffer death for every man. (Y. 9.) 

2. That he might become our Leader and Captain in the 

great work of restoring to ransomed man his lost do- 
minion over this world. (Y. 5-9.) 

3. That he might destroy the works of the devil. (Y. 14, 

15. Compare 1 John iii: 8.) 

4. That having been made perfect through sufferings, he 

might be better qualified to sympathize with us, and 
to succor and support us in all our trials and afflic- 
tions. (Y. 10, 17, 18.) 

Chapter III. Motives drawn from the Apostleship of Christ, 
as the Author and Administrator of the Neio Institution. 
(iii — iv : 13.) 
In the discussion and development of this subject, the 
author draws sundry motives from the following sources : 
1. From a comparison of Christ with Moses, the faithful 
Apostle of the Old Institution, (iii : 1-6.) 



360 REASON AND REVELATION. 

2. From a comparison of our pilgrimage under Christ with 

that of Israel under Moses. (V. 7-19.) 

3. From the more perfect and glorious rest, enjoyed under 

Christ, (iv : 1-10.) 

4. From the all-searching nature and character of the word 

of God, by which we are to be judged at the last day. 
(Y. 11-13. See John xii : 48.) 

Chapter IV. Motives drawn from the nature and charac- 
ter of Christ's Priesthood, (iv : 14 — v : 10.) 

1. From the exalted character, and availing sympathy and 

intercession of Christ for us, as our High-Priest, (iv : 
14-16.) 

2. From a further consideration of the same subject, illus- 

trated by a comparison of Christ's priesthood with that 
of Aaron and Melchisedech. (V. 1-10.) 

Chapter V. A Digression, consisting, 

1. Of an admonition to the Hebrew brethren on account of 

their inexcusable ignorance. (V. 11-14.) 

2. Of a warning to them, on account of their danger of 

apostatizing, (vi : 1-8.) 

3. Of an encouragement, on the ground of God's fidelity. 

(V. 9-20.) 

Chapter VI. Motives derived from the superiority of 
Christ's Priesthood, compared with that of Aaron, (vii — 
viii : 5.) 

1. From the superiority of Melchisedech's priesthood over 

that of Aaron ; and consequently the superiority of 
Christ's, which was to that of Melchisedech as the sub- 
stance is to the shadow, (vii : 1-10.) 

2. From the change that was made in the Aaronic or Levit- 

ical priesthood. (V. 11-19.) 



HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 361 

3. From the oath of God, which was made only in reference 

to the priesthood of Christ, (V. 20-22.) 

4. From the frequent changes in the Levitical priesthood 

caused by death. (V. 23-25.) From Aaron to Christ, 
there were sixty-seven High-Priests; and from Aaron 
to the destruction of Jerusalem, there were eighty-one. 

5. From the superior dignity and moral excellence of Christ. 

(V. 26-28.) 

6. Finally and chiefly from the fact that Christ is a High- 

Priest, not of a typical institution, but of the true Tab- 
ernacle, (viii: 1-5.) 

Chapter VII. Motives drawn from the superior nature 
and character of the New Covenant, (viii: 6-13. Com- 
pare Jeremiah xxxi : 31-34.) 

1. The New Covenant is faultless; the Old was faulty. 

(V. 7, 8.) 

2. The Old Covenant was written on stone ; but the New, 

on the understanding and the heart. (V. 10.) 

3. The subjects of the Old Covenant were not necessarily 

pious; but all the subjects of the New Covenant must 
of necessity take Jehovah to be their God. (V. 10.) 

4. Most of the subjects of the Old Covenant were introduced 

into it by a birth of flesh ; and they had therefore to 
learn afterward even the name of God. But all the 
subjects of the New Covenant are received into it on 
the confession of their faith ; and hence they must all 
know the Lord, from the least of them to the greatest. 
(V. 11.) 

5. There was nothing in the Old Covenant that could really 

take away sins ; and hence all the sins of the people 
were again remembered every year, on the day of atone- 
ment. But under the New Covenant, the sins of the 
Christian are remembered no more. (V. 12.) 



362 REASON AND REVELATION. 

6. The Old Covenant was abolished when Christ was cru- 
cified; but the New will continue while time endures. 
(V. 13. See also Daniel ii : 44, and Hebrews xii : 28.) 



Chapter "VIII. — Motives drawn from the superior offerings, 
sacrifices, and services of the New Covenant (ix — x : 18.) 

Under this head, the Apostle considers, 

1. The structure and the arrangement of the Tabernacle and 

its furniture. (V. 1-5.) 

2. The services of the Tabernacle. (V. 6, 7.) 

3. The inefficiency of these services. V. 8-10.) 

4. The superiority of Christ's offering. (V. 11-13.) This 

is proved chiefly from three considerations : 

(1) It procures eternal redemption. 

(2) It purifies the consciousness. 

(3) It secures for those who accept of it, the eternal inher- 

itance. 

5. The necessity of Christ's death. (V. 16-24.) This is 

shown and illustrated in two ways : 

(1) By the case of a Testator. (V. 16, 17.) 

(2) By the typical rites and ceremonies of the Old Cove- 

nant, (V. 18-24.) 

6. The great contrast between the one offering of Christ's own 

blood, and the many offerings of the blood of Jewish 
victims. (V. 25, 26.) 

7. The object of Christ's second coming. It will not, in all 

respects, be like the reappearance of the High-Priest 
of the Old Covenant, who came out of the Most Holy 
Place, merely to repeat the same order of things year 
by year. Christ's second advent will be without a sin- 
offering, to judge the world. He will come to bless his 
saints ; but to take vengeance on them that acknowledge 
not God and that obey not the Gospel. (V. 27, 28.) 



HEKMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS. 3G3 

8. The inefficiency of the Legal sacrifices. They never took 

away the guilt of sin. They were but shadows; and 
could therefore procure but a typical and relative par- 
don, (x : 1-4.) 

9. The great efficacy of the Sacrifice of Christ. It procures 

final pardon, (x : 5-18.) 

Chapter IX. — 3Iotives drawn from the superior benefits, 
rights, honors, privileges, and relations of the subjects of 
the New Covenant, (x: 19 — ii.) 

Under this chapter, we have given, 

1. An exhortation to greater diligence in the worship and 

service of God, drawn from a consideration of the great 
benefits resulting from the death and intercession of 
Christ. (Y. 19-25.) 

2. Admonitions and warnings drawn from the awful con- 

sequences of apostasy ; on the principle that wherever 
much is given, much is also required. (V. 26-31.) 

3. Encouragements drawn from the previous patient endur- 

ance of the Hebrew Christians. (V. 32-34.) 

4. Encouragements drawn from the near approach of their 

deliverance from existing evils. (V. 35-37.) 

5. Encouragements drawn from the nature and sustaining 

influence of their faith. (V. 38, 39.) 

(1) The great subjective power and influence of faith on the 

soul: it is the foundation of all our hopes, and the means 
by and through which we may even now enjoy to some ex- 
tent the vast resources of the invisible universe, (xi : 1.) 

(a) Some general illustrations of this important truth. (V. 

2,3.) 

(b) Various personal illustrations of this. (V. 4-37.) 

(2) The superior privileges and advantages of the Christian, 

with regard to the object of his faith. Christ the prom- 
ised Savior has now actually come. (V. 38, 39.) 



364 REASON AND REVELATION. 

6. Exhortations and encouragements drawn from the con- 
templated presence and observation of a great multitude 
of victorious spectators, (xii : 1 .) 

7. Exhortation drawn from the example of Christ. (Y. 

2-4.) 

8. From the design of all Divine chastisements. (Y. 5-13.) 

9. From the dangers and consequences of apostasy. (Y. 14- 

17.) 

10. From the greater and more encouraging privileges of the 
Christian dispensation. (V. 18-24.) 

11. From the greater obligations that now rest on the sub- 

jects of the New Covenant. (V. 25-27.) 

12. From the stability of Christ's Kingdom. (V. 28, 29.) 

Chapter X. — Exhortations to various practical duties. 
(xiii: 1-19.) 

1. To continue in brotherly love. (Y. 1.) 

2. To be hospitable. (Y."2.) 

3. To sympathize with those that are in bonds and afflic- 
tions. (Y. 3.) 

4. To be faithful in the marriage relation. (Y. 4.) 

5. To be content and confiding. (Y. 5, 6.) 

6. To imitate the fidelity of their teachers. (Y. 7.) 

7. To be stable in doctrine. (Y. 8-15.) 

8. To be benevolent. (Y. 16.) 

9. To submit to their rulers. (Y. 17.) 

10. To pray for the Apostle and his co-workers. (Y. 18, 19.) 

Chapter XI. — Conclusion of the Epistle. (Y. 20-25.) 

1. Benediction. (Y. 20, 21.) 

2. Admonition. (Y. 22.) 

3. Timothy's release. (Y. 23.) 

4. Salutations. (Y. 24, 25.) 



PART SIXTH. 



THE LAST AND HIGHEST FUNCTION OF REASON. 



The last and, perhaps I might say, the highest function 
of Reason in matters pertaining to Divine Rev- _, .. 

I o I he seventh 

elation, is to cordially and fully acquiesce in the and last Prov- 

j, ince of Reason. 

fitness, the wisdom, and the correctness oj what- 
ever God has clearly revealed. His authority is supreme. 
From it, there is no appeal. And hence to refuse to submit 
to it in any case, and under any circumstances, is most irra- 
tional and absurd. 

If Reason is not fully satisfied with the entire chain of 
evidence, she may reexamine it. She may, if suppose that 

t t • • -i i r> ,-, , . Reason is not 

she pleases, again consider each of the questions, satis ne<i with 
Whether the Bible is the word of God : whether the evidence - 
it is the pure word of God : whether it is the pure and in- 
spired word of God : whether the Principles of interpreta- 
tion are all founded in truth : and finally, she may examine 
and see with the most rigid and scrutinizing exactness, 
whether the Rules and Principles have all been correctly 
and judiciously applied in the course of the exegesis. But 
all these points having been found correct, and having been 
conceded, then indeed Reason has no alternative left 

BUT TO CORDIALLY AND FULLY ACQUIESCE IN THE TRUTH- 
FULNESS AND PARAMOUNT AUTHORITY OF EVERY ORACLE 
THAT BEARS THE SEAL AND STAMP OF God's OWN INSPI- 
RATION. 

(365) 



366 REASON AND REVELATION. 

"We have no right to reject it on the ground that we can 
whether Rev- not comprehend it: or that we can not reconcile 

elation may be . . . .i ^ .. -• . . 

rejected on the it with our preconceived notions and opinions. 
ground of its is^ sane man g0 reasons [ n any other department 

iiiconiprehen- •> *- 

sibiiity. of knowledge, science, and literature. On the 

contrary, we all receive as facts, in other branches of learning, 
many things that we do not and that we can not comprehend. 
We believe, for instance, that the sun holds the earth in its 
orbit, and regulates its motions : but does any 

Illustrations. . . n 

living astronomer profess to comprehend fully 
the philosophy of these phenomena ? AVe believe, that food 
received into the stomach is converted into all the various 
cells and tissues of the body: but does any physiologist, 
however learned, presume to understand fully and perfectly 
these mysterious processes ? We feel perfectly sure that the 
soul dwells within the body as its clay tabernacle: that it 
preserves it; moves it; gives tone, energy, beauty, and vi- 
tality to it : but has any metaphysician ever pretended to 
explain how it accomplishes all these results? These and 
ten thousand other phenomena equally mysterious are now 
received as facts by every man of ordinary intelligence : not 
because w r e fully understand them ; but simply because no 
one can any longer reasonably doubt the evidence of their 
reality. 

And just so it is with respect to many things contained in 
The mysteries tne Holy Bible. No philosopher can explain 
of Eeveiati.m them : but even the child may, on the evidence 

are confessedly m # ^ 

great and nu- submitted, believe and receive them as -the real 
and veritable oracles of that Spirit which searches 
all things, yea even the deep counsels and purposes of Jeho- 
vah. Such, for instance, are the following : 

1. The fact that God has existed from all eternity. (Gen- 
niustrative ex- es ' is i : 1 ) Deut. xxxiii : 27 ; John i : 1, 2 ; Acts 

amples. xy . -j_g^ 



ACQUIESCENCE OF REASON. 367 

2. The fact, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit 
are the One ever-living and true God. (John x : 30 ; xiv : 
9-11; Actsv: 3,4; Matthew xxviii: 19.) 

3. The fact, that in the beginning, God created all things 
out of nothing. (Gen. i: 1 ; John i : 1-3.) 

4. The fact that at the bidding of Joshua, he caused the 
sun and the moon to stand still; and that in the adminis- 
tration of his government, he has often from the beginning 
wrought many other miracles. (See, for instance, the inspired 
account that we have given of the mission of Moses and of 
Christ.) 

5. The fact, that all persons are by nature (<puoei) the 
children of wrath. (Ephesians ii: 3.) 

6. The fact, that by one act of disobedience, on the part 
of the first Adam, all men, including infants and idiots, have, 
without any agency on their part, been constituted sinners ; 
(ojiojizcoAot xazeazadrjaav be noXkoi), (Romans v: 19.) 

7. The fact, that by one act of obedience on the part of 
the second Adam, the Lord of life and glory, all mankind, 
without exception, will, in like manner, be rendered just, so 
far as it respects the guilt of Adam's sin. (dixaeoi xazaaza- 
O^ao^za: be noAAoc.) (Romans v: 19.) 

8. The fact, that by and through the death and media- 
tion of Christ, all men may be justified and saved from all 
their personal sins, on the conditions of faith and obedience 
prescribed in the Gospel. (Mark xvi: 16; Actsii: 38; 
2 Peter i: 5-11; 1 John i: 9.) 

9. The fact, that the Holy Spirit really and truly dwells 
in the hearts of all the children of God. (John vii : 39 ; 
Acts ii : 38; Romans viii : 9-11; 1 Corinthians vi : 19; 
and Galatians iv: 6.) 

10. The fact, that the spirits of the redeemed can, without 
their organs of sense, be in a state of conscious activity and 
enjoyment, while separated from their bodies, between their 



368 REASON AND REVELATION. 

death and the resurrection. (Luke xvi : 19-31 ; 2 Corin- 
thians v : 1-10 ; Philippians i : 21-26 ; Revelations iv : 8 — 
v : 10.) 

11. The fact, that the disembodied spirits of the wicked 
are, during the same interval, in a state of misery and tor- 
ment. (Luke xvi: 19-31; 1 Peter iii: 19.) 

12. The fact, that the bodies of all, both old and young, 
both saints and sinners, will be raised from the dead and 
reunited to their spirits, forever and ever, by the omnipotent 
voice of our glorious and adorable Immanuel. (John v : 28, 
29; 1 Corinthians xv; Revelations xx : 12-15.) 

13. The fact, that after death and throughout eternal ages, 
there will be no change of state on the part of either the 
righteous or the wicked. As death leaves us, so will the 
judgment find us ; and as the judgment leaves us, so will 
we ever be throughout the endless cycles of eternity. (Daniel 
xii: 13; Matthew xxv: 46; Luke xvi: 26; xx: 36; 1 Thes- 
salonians iv: 17; Revelations xxii : 11.) 

These and many other lessons clearly taught in the Holy 
The foundation Bible, are not contrary to Reason ; but they are 
aii^c^mat 1 - 11 obove Reason ; that is, human Reason. Such 
ters - knowledge is too high for us : too strange to be 

fully comprehended by finite mortals. We can understand 
them only in part ; but the evidence on which they rest as 
the Oracles of God, is clear and satisfactory. This is enough. 
It places our faith just where it ought to rest ; and indeed 
where all genuine faith must ever rest : on the infallible 

AUTHORITY OF THE WORD OF GOD. 

/ And hence we conclude that the paramount duty of every 
man is, first, to ascertain what God has revealed 
in his Holy Word : and secondly, to receive it and 
to obey it as the living voice of Jehovah. 

O Lord, open thou our eyes and our hearts, that we may 
behold wondrous things out of thy Law. 



PART SEVENTH 



SUPPLEMENTARY. 



A knowledge of 
all matters de- 
sirable. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE BIBLE AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION. 

" Knowledge is power," says Lord Bacon. And hence 
the more knowledge a man has, other things 
being equal, the better he is prepared both to 
do good and to receive good. 

But no man can study every thing. For such a work, 
life is too short; and our capacities are too lim- Whythieis 
ited. And hence the necessity of being very not, at present, 

\ 7 i attainable. 

select in our studies : of prosecuting merely such 

branches of learning, as will best serve to fit and prepare us 

for the great ends and objects of life. A knowl- 

f The proper 

edge of the Chinese language, for example, may course for every 

t p , . . student. 

be oi very great importance to a missionary or 
to an ambassador who expects to labor for some years among 
the citizens of the Celestial Empire ; but it would not be of 
very much service to our Kentucky merchants, farmers, and 
mechanics. And just so it is with most other branches of 
secular learning. They are of great importance to some; 
and of but comparatively little consequence to others. 
24 (369) 



370 REASON AND REVELATION. 

But there is one book that should be carefully, prayer- 
Reason wh- the ^^7 9 anc ^ constantly studied by all men, what- 
Bibie should be ever may be their rank or their position in 
Society : I mean, of course, the Holy Bible. 
This follows of necessity from the chief end and object of 
life. We live in a wide world : a world in which there are 
a great many objects to be accomplished. And hence a di- 
vision of labor is necessary to success. Some men should 
cultivate the soil ; some should engage in commercial pur- 
suits ; some should attend to the civil wants and interests 
of society ; and others again should act as the physicians 
and the educators of mankind. But there is one common 
calling to which all others are subordinate: one common 
object for which every man should labor from his cradle to 
his grave : and that is to get such an education as will best 
qualify him to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. 

Without stopping to define just now what an education 
_ , .. is, it may be conveniently regarded and consid- 

Threefold pro- ; J J ° 

cess of educa- ered as a threefold process : viz., the acquiring 
process ; the developing process ; and the form- 
ative process ; in all of which the study of the Bible is of 
paramount importance. This I will endeavor to show in 
the following sections. 



SECTION I.— The Acquiring Process. 

This consists in the acquisition of useful knowledge: and 
in what the especially of -that knowledge that will best qual- 
Acquiring Pro- ify us for all the great ends and purposes of our 

cess consists 

existence. In this department, the knowledge 
of God, the knowledge of man, and the knowlege of the way 
opinions of of life and happiness stand preeminent. So 
ophers. " taught Confucius, Zoroaster, Thales, Pythago- 



THE BIBLE AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION. 371 

ras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, Cato, Cicero, and nearly 
all of the most eminent of the ancient philoso- _,. . . .. 

••■ Ineir failure to 

pliers, as well as the Prophets and Apostles, acquire this 

_ _ , . r> i • i it knowledge. 

And lor the attainment or this knowledge, many 
of them labored Avith a zeal that is worthy of all commenda- 
tion ; but with very little success : 

" For self to self, and God to man revealed 
Are themes to Nature's eye forever sealed." 

It was reserved for that Spirit that searches all things, yea 
even the deep counsels and purposes of Jehovah, 
to reveal to man these great mysteries. This it whomrweaieJ. 
has done in the Holy Bible. Those things which 
wore concealed from ancient sages, God has, in this won- 
derful volume, revealed unto babes. So that a child who 
now sits at the feet of Jesus, may really know vastly more 
of these sublime themes, than the greatest of naturalists : for 
they are spiritually discerned. 

I know, the Heavens declare the glory of God ; and the 
firmament showeth forth his handiwork. I am v 

Knowledge of 

well aware that all nature is, to the believer, but God among the 

p. ■> . n . -i i heathen. 

an expression ot the minute wisdom, and power, 
and goodness of God. But I am also aware, that it is a well- 
attested historical fact, that " the world by wisdom knew not 
God :" and that in nearly every place where the light of the 
Bible has not been enjoyed, Polytheism has been the popular 
belief. 

And the same may be said in substance of man himself, 
and of the only possible efficient scheme of life Their knowi- 
and happiness. After all that has been learned l^dorthe' 1 
from the light of nature, it is a well-known his- Gospel - 
torical fact, that the origin of man ; the present state and con- 
dition of man ; and the destinies of man, are still mysteries 
to all who are without the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. 



372 EEASON AND REVELATION. 

And where in all the revelations of nature and the learned 
discussions of heathen philosophy, is the name of JESUS 
to be found ? And where, save in and from the Bible, can 
we learn any thing of that Scheme of Redemption of 
which he is the Author and the Finisher; and which is really 
the only scheme known under the whole heavens or given 
among men, whereby poor sinners may be saved and made 
heirs of immortality?! Manifestly, the knowledge of the 
Bible is of paramount importance to every man. This will 
become more and more evident as we proceed with the con- 
sideration of the two remaining elements of education. 

SECTION II.— The Developing Process. 

This consists in the full and perfect development of all the 
in what the powers and susceptibilities of man's entire nature, 
Proces^'con- in harmony ivith their relations to each other, and 
sists - also in harmony with all the relations that man 

himself sustains to the entire universe. 

To do this, it is necessary that every faculty be exercised 
How this may on ns own corresponding and appropriate ob- 
be done. jects : that is, on objects suited to its own nature 

and capacity. The eye could never be developed without 
light ; nor the ear without sound ; nor the lungs without an 
atmosphere ; nor the heart without purified blood. We must, 
then, in the first place, have an object divinely adapted to 
the development of each faculty : and in the second place, 
said faculty must be duly exercised on it, or by means of it. 

But where shall we find objects corresponding with all the 
These objects faculties of the human soul ? Can they be found 
o^coueg/ " i n the curriculum of studies that has been very 
curricuiums. generally adopted by our oldest and most influ- 
ential Literary Institutions? ISTo doubt many of them can. 
There is much in the Greek and Roman Classics ; in the 



THE BIBLE AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION. 373 

science of Mathematics ; in the department of Metaphysics ; 
and in every branch of Natural Philosophy and Natural 
History, to improve the memory; to cultivate the taste*; to 
expand the intellect ; and to mature the judgment. But 
how much is there in all these to cultivate the heart; to ed- 
ucate our emotional nature ; and especially to develop and 
to strengthen in due proportion our moral and religious 
powers and susceptibilities? 

I am aware that almost every branch of science and lit- 
erature has some tendency this way. I know that the mor- 
ally beautiful is to be found in some of the poems of Homer 
and in the orations of Demosthenes and Cicero, as well as 
in every branch of Natural Science. But I also know, that 
in the whole created universe there is really Their chief de _ 
nothing which in this respect is fully adequate ficieuc >- 
to meet and to satisfy all the wants of the human soul. The 
Earth finds an object of attraction in every planet, in every 
comet, in every star, and even in every particle of matter 
however small and however remote. But the Sun only has 
power to regulate its motions, and to preserve the harmony 
of our mundane system. And just so our hearts tend to 
cluster around ten thousand lovely and beautiful objects in 
both nature and art : but God himself is the only The only satis _ 
object in the wide universe that can fill the vast *Vi»^r<»tiouof 

° the human 

capacity of the human soul ; that can satisfy all soul, 
its desires after happiness; and that can properly excite, de- 
velop, strengthen, and regulate all its moral and religious 
powers and susceptibilities. And to attempt to accomplish 
all these ends in any other way and by any other means, is 
like attempting 

" To satisfy the ocean with a drop ; 
To marry Immortality to Death: 
And with the unsubstantial shade of time, 
To fill the embrace of all eternity." 



374 REASON AND REVELATION. 

" My flesh and my heart fail," says the Psalmist, " but God 
is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." * 

Every rational system of education, then, must begin and 
The study of end with the study of God. It is not enough 
God an essen- to t eacn our children that it is their duty to re- 

tial element in <? 

every system member their Creator in the days of their youth. 

of education. _ Tr i -i i n i • -, TT 

We must help them to do this. We must lead 
them to such views and conceptions of God, as will enable 
them to love him with all their hearts, and soul, and mind, 
and strength. In this way, and in this way only can we 
properly develop, cultivate, and educate their benevolent 
affections; and restore to Love its supremacy and empire 
in the government of the human soul. 

But how may this be done ? is now the great question. I 
„ , . „ say now : for there was a time when it was not 

Man s inter- •> 

course with a question : when the glory of God shone as 

God in Eden. -,. -. t n • i i 

directly and as naturally into the deep recesses 
of the human soul, as the rays of light now penetrate the 
lenses of the eye : when God and man spoke, face to face, 
as friend to friend. 

Then was the Golden Age of humanity. Then it was, 
Happy results that all the faculties of the human soul were 
and conse- faty anc | p r0 perly exercised on their own cor- 

quences of this •> a j. •/ 

union and com- responding and appropriate objects: and man's 

munion. , . -, . , ,. , 

whole nature was developed according to the 
most exact laws and principles of Divine harmony. The 
empire of Love was then supreme; and every other passion 
and emotion was kept in perfect subordination to this all- 
permeating and governing principle of the human soul. 
But sin separated man from his Maker. It interposed a 

dark and thick cloud between the parties. God 

Effects and > r 

consequences of no longer appeared toman in his true character. 
His glory was obscured; and the Divine love- 

* Psalms lxxiii: 26. 



culty of edu- 
cating man- 
kind. 



THE BIBLE AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION. 375 

liness of his whole nature was perverted through the influ- 
ence of a false medium. There was no longer an object 
adequate to the proper development and discipline of man's 
moral and religious faculties. Love was no longer duly and 
properly exercised. It became, as a consequence, weak and 
powerless. And selfishness — supreme selfishness, stimulated 
and excited by ambition, envy, jealousy, hatred, and re- 
venge, took possession of the human heart ! 

It is chiefly owing to man's having fallen into this preter- 
natural condition, that his education has become ? resent aim- 
a problem of so much difficulty. Even under 
the most favorable circumstances, the full, per- 
fect, and harmonious development of all the powers and 
susceptibilities of the human soul, would have been a ques- 
tion worthy of the most exalted genius. Who, then, is now 
sufficient for these things, since human nature has become a 
wreck by sin ? Since all its passions have been preternatu- 
rally excited? Since the heart itself has become more like a 
Hydra, pouring out its venom from a thousand serpentine 
heads, than like that Divine image in which it was origi- 
nally created? and since the great source of all moral light 
and moral influence has been veiled from the eyes of mor- 
tals?! 

No wonder that, under such circumstances, the whole hea- 
then world has been so badly educated. JSTo p rac ticai evi- 
wonder, that the most favored and enlightened dencesofthis - 
nations of antiquity, degenerated even under the instruction 
of a Socrates, a Plato, an Aristotle, and a Cicero. No won- 
der that woman has been enslaved ; and that the world has 
been so long governed by a set of intellectually-educated, 
but heartless monsters. The light and heat of the Divine ef- 
fulgence, are just as necessary to the development and proper 
education of the human heart, as are the rays of the Sun to 
the healthful and perfect development of the rose, the lily, 



tion not to be 
abandoned. 



376 REASON AND REVELATION. 

or the pink. Without them, no fallen son or daughter of 
humanity, was ever yet properly educated, and from the 
nature of the case, as it now stands, it is utterly impossible 
that any one ever can be. 

What, then, was to be done for man — fallen as he was 
,, . a from his primitive fflorv? Must he forever 

Man s educa- t o 

remain uneducated? Must the Godlike powers 
of his moral nature remain forever undeveloped 
for want of some proper object on which they might be ex- 
ercised ? This was not consistent with either the will or the 
purposes of God concerning man. 

Shall the veil, then, be removed? Shall the unclouded 
Nor tbe fan- splendors of the Divine glory be again allowed 
orbed glories ^ s hj ne forth with all their dazzling brilliancy 

of the Divine © J 

splendor to be into the dark, cold, and chilly recesses of the 
human soul? Impossible. This would have 
been inconsistent with both the glory of God and the hap- 
piness of man. " Thou canst not see my face ; for there shall 
no one see me and live," * was the reply of Jehovah to one 
of the meekest, the holiest, and the best of men. 

The case of man was therefore most peculiar. The eyes 
of his understanding were diseased. The retina of his moral 
vision had become morbidly sensitive. He was not in a con- 
dition to bear the full and open blaze of God's glory; and 
yet he really needed more of such Divine influences on his 
soul, than he had ever felt even in the groves and bowers of 
Eden. The problem was therefore one of extreme difficulty. 

But nothing is too hard for the Almighty: nothing is too 
solution of the profound for infinite wisdom. And the question 
Problem. was therefore finally solved, no doubt to the en- 

tire satisfaction and profound astonishment of all the higher 
created intelligences. The awful majesty of Jehovah was 
concealed; and those rays of glory which reflected most of 

* Exodus xxxiii : *20. 



THE BIBLE AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION. 377 

his love, and his mercy, and his benevolence, and his philan- 
thropy, were concentrated and brought to a focus of tran- 
scendental power, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, our 
Immanuel, and the Divine Shekinah of the New Institu- 
tion. Thence they were, by the Holy Spirit, reflected and 
transmitted to the sacred pages of the Holy Bible: so that 
looking into it, we can now, with open face, behold as in a 
mirror, the glory of the Lord; until under its transforming 
influence, we are changed from glory to glory even as by the 
Spirit of the Lord.* 

The Bible, then, is in this respect a substitute for the more 
direct original displays of God's glory. It con- The Bible is 
tains the only manifestation of his philanthropy, J| iereforees9fi .** 

J l ■'■•'' tial to our spir- 

that is at all adequate to eradicate the selfishness it» ii1 aeveiop- 
and deep-rooted enmity of the human heart; and 
to enable us to love Him who first loved us.f And hence it 
follows, that the study of the Holy Scriptures, is just as nec- 
essary to the proper and rational development of the human 
soul, in harmony with its relations to the universe, as food is 
to the healthful development of the body ; and as the rains, 
dews, and sunshine of heaven, are to the growth and fra- 
grance of the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley. 

Whether, then, the Bible should be taught and studied in 
our families, our Sunday-schools, our common It should be 
schools, our academies, our female seminaries, " liU ' e a Text " 

' Book in every 

our colleges and our universities, as a means of department of 
moral discipline and spiritual development, is 
not a question of mere expediency or metaphysical specula- 
tion. It is not a matter of mere Protestant, Catholic, or 
Jewish prejudice. It is a question which has its origin in 
the wants and deep-seated principles of the human soul : and 
which involves man's highest interests for time and for eter- 
nity. 

*2 Corinthians iii : 18. tColossians i: 20-22, and 1 John iv: 19. 



378 REASON AND REVELATION. 

And hence no other Divine precept was ever expressed 
Divine direc- w ^ more P om t> emphasis, and particularity, 
tions on this than that which expresses and enforces the duty 
of training and educating our children in the 
very words, and through the instrumentality of the Living 
Oracles. " These words which I command thee this day" 
said God to his ancient people, "shall be in thine heart; and 
thou shalt diligently teach them to thy children; and shalt talk 
of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walked 
by the way, when thou liest down and when thou risest up. 
And thou shalt bind them for a sign on thy hand; and they 
shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write 
them on the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." * 

SECTION III.— The Formative Process. 

This consists in the formation of such habits of thought, 
t «. .xu and feeling, and action, as are essential to the 

In what the J if) J 

Formative Pro- perfection of our own character ; and as will best 
enable us to discharge with facility and pleasure, 
all the duties and obligations that we owe to God and to society. 
It is of course very closely connected with the developing 
it is simuita- process. Indeed, it is only in theory that we 
neous with the can separate them. While our latent powers, 

Acquiring and x ... 

Developing energies, and susceptibilities are being brought 
out from the deep recesses of our being, by each 
one's being exercised on its own appropriate objects, they 
all, at the same time, receive a particular cast : they are, as 
it were, molded in the types of the educator. They are 
either brought into a state of more active and sympathetic 
harmony; or they are perverted, and peradventure even 
crushed beneath the fetters of the most tyrannical, inexora- 
ble, and oppressive despotism. 

* Deuteronomy vi : 6-9. 



THE BIBLE AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION. 379 

This is so very obvious, that it scarcely needs any illustra- 
tion. It is a matter of daily consciousness, with Formation of 
every youth, that the performance of any one habit8 -« 
action, begets in his system, an increased facility for its repe- 
tition. This again strengthens the same tendency : and so 
on, till a corresponding habit is formed. We all know with 
what fear and trembling we made our first essay 
in the simple art of chirography. To form even 
the first letter in the alphabet, required, at that time, a very 
considerable effort. But now, since a habit has been formed, 
we make it almost unconsciously : provided, however, that 
our chirographic organs have received the proper training 
and discipline. 

This is a very simple and familiar illustration of the force 
and power of habit, over all the faculties of the The very pias- 
body, soul, and spirit of man. So plastic, indeed, the^nfant° 
is the infant constitution, that it may be easily mind - 
cast into almost any mold whatever. I do not of course by 
this remark, intend to indorse the very absurd dogma, that 
" Man is a mere creature of circumstances." Certainly not. 
Such a hypothesis has no foundation whatever in fact. There 
is evidently in the mind of every man, a natural affinity for 
truth ; just as there is in his body, a natural tendency to as- 
sume the upright position. But we all know that the human 
frame has, in its infancy, been distorted into a thousand hid- 
eous forms : and we are just as painfully conscious, that the 
infant mind has, as often, been cast into false systems of pol- 
itics, philosophy, morality, and religion. The present chart 
of the civilized world is a melancholy illustration of this fact. 

How exceedingly important, then, it is, that Importance of 
during the process of education, all the facul- conducting 

this process 

ties of every youth, should not only be fully properly, and 
developed, but also so molded, trained, and dis- Jj xh 
ciplined in the truth, as to form habits in har- 



proper 
means 



380 REASON AND REVELATION. 

mony with his own nature and with all the relations that he 
sustains to the entire universe. This is a matter on which 
there is no room for exaggeration. Here it is, that all the 
powers and resources of language become utterly bankrupt ; 
and every attempt at hyperbole, falls far short of expressing 
the simple, eternal realities and consequences that are in- 
volved in the education of every son and daughter of our 
fallen race. 

Here, then, the study of the Bible again becomes a matter 
The study of of infinite importance to every man. He who 

the Bible essen- -, i i 1 n ■ • • i 

tiai in this pro- made man, and who knows what is in man, made 
cess - the Bible also for man ; and especially for his in- 

tellectual, moral, and religious discipline. Of course, then, it 
is perfectly adapted to this end. And all that is now want- 
ing is simply this, that it be properly used as a book of in- 
struction, correction, and discipline by all parents and other 
educators of youth. Let this be done, and soon 

" The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, 
And the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; 
And the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; 

And a little child shall lead them. 
and^onM?- 11 * And the cow and the bear shall feed ; 
quences of its Their young: ones shall lie down together: 

proper use. ./ o o 

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, 
And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cocka- 
trice's den. 
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: 
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge 
of the Lord, 

AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA." (Isaiah xi : 7-9.) 



QUALIFICATIONS OF THE BIBLE STUDENT. 381 



CHAPTER II. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE BIBLE STUDENT. 

Oue next theme is the necessary and proper Three kinds of 
Qualifications of the Bible student. These may purifications 

^ * pertaining to 

be conveniently considered under three heads : the Bible stu- 
viz., the Intellectual, the Moral, and the Lit- 
erary. 

SECTION I. — Intellectual Qualifications. 

I will omit, in this discussion, the consideration of the 
distinct elementary faculties : such as Percep- In what these 
tion, Memory, Imagination, Judgment, and In- chiefly consist - 
tuition : and merely say a few words on those happy combi- 
nations of these faculties, and those peculiar habits of mind, that 
most serve to qualify the student of the Bible for a correct 
and practical understanding of the Sacred Volume. These 
may perhaps be all generically comprehended under what we 
usually call Good Common Sense. 

But what is Good Common Sense? This is not strictly 
a fixed quantity, as a mathematician would say. „, 

1 J 7 J Two elements 

It admits of some variations, according to cir- of common 

-i-» t i .11 i sense. 

cumstances. But I presume, that it will always 
be found, on analysis, to comprehend two very different pow- 
ers and capacities of the understanding. The first of these is 
intellectual acumen; or the power to discriminate between 
things that differ. And the second is intellectual expansion; 



382 REASON AND REVELATION. 

or the power to comprehend all the parts and elements of 
one united whole in their true and proper relations to each 
other. An excess or deficiency of either of these elements is 
apt to unbalance the mind and lead to error. 

These, then, are the two intellectual qualifications that 
Two things should be most earnestly sought for by every 
necessary in student of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible, if 

order to un- x 

derstand the comprehended at all, must be understood ; first, 
with respect to its elements ; and secondly, with 
respect to the one grand and comprehensive scheme of re- 
demption which pervades the whole volume, and extends from 
its alpha to its omega. Those who fail at either of these 
points, can never be safe interpreters of the Living Oracles. 

SECTION II.— Moral Qualifications. 

Tlie first of these is a profound reverence for the Bible. We 
First Moral should never separate God from his word : but 
Qualification. j n a ]j cases? an( J under all circumstances, we 
should approach the Bible as we would approach its Divine 
Author. To read it as we read a heathen classic, is of but 
little use; perhaps often an injury. 

The second moral qualification of the Bible student is an 
second Moral honest and sincere desire to know the truth. It is 
Qualification. not en0U gh to go to the Bible for proof-texts. 
We must go to it for the truth, at all risks and at all haz- 
ards. This may indeed sometimes prove ruinous to our pre- 
conceived systems of philosophy and theology : but be it so. 

This desire should also be accompanied with an honest pur- 
Ti.ird Quaiifi- P ose an d determination to obey the truth. Other- 
cation, wise, the study of the Bible may only serve to 
blunt the sensibilities, and to harden the moral and religious 
affections. Such is often the case with the man who is 
accustomed to witness the effects of poverty and distress, 



QUALIFICATIONS OF THE BIBLE STUDENT. 383 

without making any effort to relieve them. And hence 
Christ says: "If any man will do his (God's) will, he shall 
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak 
of myself" * We should, then, tremble, when we feel our- 
selves in any measure disposed to trifle with any of God's 
commandments. 

SECTION III. — Literary Qualifications. 

These are very numerous and various. For although the 
Bible is, in some respects, one of the most simple . . , 

J- ' J- Amount of 

and intelligible of all books, it is, in other re- learning neces- 

. _ , . . sary to under- 

spects, the most profound volume that was ever stand the Bib- 
written. And hence it really requires more ble * 
learning to understand the Bible perfectly than to understand 
any other book extant. And consequently the man who has 
the most knowledge, other things being equal, is always best 
qualified to understand and interpret the Living Oracles. 

But, nevertheless, there are certainly some branches of 
science and literature that are of special import- _ 

■L x Branches of 

ance to every man who desires to understand for most import- 
himself the Holy Bible. Such, for instance, are 
the following: 

I. A thorough knowledge of his oivn vernacular. This is 
absolutely necessary in order to carry on success- 

J ^ J A knowledge of 

fully any train of thought whatever. We may 
think as the infant must think without language : 
but we can never reason without it. And unless we become 
master of it, it is very apt to become master of us. The lit- 
erature of the world is full of illustrations on this point. 

II. A critical knowledge of the original Greek , , , 

if J if A knowledge of 

and Hebrew will be of great service to the stu- Greek and He- 
dent of the Holy Bible, in several ways. 

* John vii : 17. 



one's own ver- 
nacular. 



384 REASON AND REVELATION. 

1. It will enable him to understand the meaning of many 
obscure passages. E. g.: In Mark xvi : 15, Christ said to his 
Apostles : " Go into all the world and preach (xapugaze) the 
Gospel to every creature." And in Acts viii : 4 : " They that 
were scattered abroad (on account of the persecution) went 
every-where preaching (euafyeh^opzvot) the word/' Kqpoa- 
aco means to preach or to proclaim by authority ; and euay- 
feh^co means simply to announce or proclaim good news. 

2. It will greatly assist him in comprehending the beauties 
of many portions of the Bible. E. g. : In Psalm c : 1, we 
have this exhortation : " Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, 
all ye lands." This is certainly very beautiful; but not so 
beautiful as the original is to the Hebrew ear. Every Hebrew 
scholar sees at once in the word «r-n (K. ?* n , to make a loud 
noise) an allusion to the sounding of the Jubilee trumpet. 

Another very good illustration occurs in 2 Peter i : 5 : 
" Besides this," says the Apostle, " giving all diligence, add 
to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge," etc. Here 
the word used for add is not it poaz cdy fit or sxtyspw, but 
entyo presto, to furnish besides or in addition, from em, on, 
and yop'ff(°'i a chorus-leader: and this again from, yopo^, 
a dance, and ayco, to lead. In the use of this word, then, the 
Greek scholar at once recognizes an allusion to the ancient 
Drama, in which the yoprjo^, or chorus-leader, led the way, 
taking by the hand the next in order; the second in like 
manner led the third ; the third, the fourth ; and so on, until 
the entire chorus appeared on the stage. 

3. It will greatly strengthen his faith, and give him a be- 
coming confidence in the correctness of his own conclusions. 
This is no doubt the common experience of all critical stu- 
dents of the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures. 

III. A general knowledge of history. This will greatly 
General His- assist him in understanding many portions of 
tory - the Sacred Scriptures; particularly the prophe- 



ytJALIFICATIONS OF THE BIBLE STUDENT. 385 

cies: and at the same time furnish him with a fund of the 
most simple and appropriate illustrations. 

IV. A knowledge of Ancient Geography. This will assist 
the Bible student in fixing the locality of events. Ancient 
And besides it is well to remember, that no other Ge °s ra P h > • 
class of names are more liable to vary in the extent of their 
meaning. The word Asia, for instance, in the days of Ho- 
mer, referred only to a very small district in the south-west 
portion of Asia Minor; in the time of Paul, it embraced the 
entire western part of Asia Minor, of which Ephesus was the 
capital ; and now it is applied to a continent. The words Eu- 
rope, Africa, and many other geographical terms, have passed 
through similar changes. And hence in any given case, it is 
necessary to understand the historical meaning of such words. 

V. A knowledge of the different systems of Chronology is 
also essential to a correct understanding of many 

portions of the Holy Scriptures. It would puzzle temsofchro- 
an American, for instance, without any knowl- no ogl 
edge of Jewish Chronology, to understand how it was that 
" the early rain " could fall about the first of November ; and 
u the latter rain" about the middle of March. But when he 
is informed that the civil year of the Jews commenced about 
the autumnal equinox, the mystery is solved. 

VI. A knowledge of Archceology or of Sacred and Profane 
Antiquities. This will very greatly assist the 
student in understanding the many references 
and allusions that are made by the Sacred writers. E. g. : 
In Matthew v: 21, 22, there is an allusion to the inferior 
courts, composed in the time of Josephus of seven judges ; 
to the Sanhedrim, composed of seventy judges, besides the 
High-Priest and his deputy ; and also to a still higher tri- 
bunal. For at that time, the Sanhedrim had no power to 
put any man to death. (John xviii : 31.) In Hebrews xii: 
1, Paul refers to the Grecian foot-races. 
25 



386 REASON AND REVELATION. 

VII. A knowledge of Mental Science. This will be of 
Mental pinios- service to the student in many ways : and espe- 
ox>hy ' cially in the study of man's powers, capacities, 
and responsibilities ; and the secret springs and workings of 
the human heart. 

VIII. The last subject that I shall name for the present, 
Physical Sci- i s a knowledge of the Pliysical Sciences and of 
ences. God's physical government. If God is the Au- 
thor of both Nature and Eevelation, it is reasonable to sup- 
pose that these two volumes would mutually serve to explain 
and to illustrate each other. And such we find to be the case 
in fact. The points of resemblance and analogy that exist 
between these two expressions of the Divine will and char- 
acter, are just as full and complete as the nature of the case 
and the subjects will permit. (See Butler's Analogy.) 



CHAPTEK III. 

HELLENISTIC GREEK. 
SECTION I.— Its History. 



About a century before the beginning of the Christian 
Decline and ^ ra j the Hebrew ceased to be a living language. 

death of the Indeed, from the time of the captivity, the corn- 
Hebrew Lan- } . 
guage. raon people seem to have rapidly changed their 

own vernacular for the Chaldee (Nehemiah vii : 8) ; though 

the Hebrew was certainly used by the learned, especially in 

writing, till after the time of the Maccabees. 

But about one hundred years before Christ, the Hebrew 

The Jews' ver- was wholly superseded, both in speech and in 

nacular in the 

time of Christ, writing, by that corrupt Aramaean dialect, com- 



HELLENISTIC GREEK. 387 

monly called the Syro-Chaldaic. This was therefore the ver- 
nacular dialect of both Christ and his Apostles. 

Why, then, was not this new dialect of the old Hebrew, 
made the medium of communicating to the world, the Gos- 
pel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? The testimony 
of the Fathers is full and explicit to this effect : that all the 
writers of the New Testament wrote in Greek, _. XT _ 

7 The New Tes- 

with perhaps the exception of Matthew. He tament writ- 

.. . , . ten in Greek. 

seems to have written m both the Aramaean 
and the Greek : first, in the Aramaean, for the sake of his 
Hebrew brethren in Palestine ; and afterward in Greek, for 
the benefit of his Hellenistic brethren who were scattered 
abroad. But why was this ? Why did God prefer the Greek 
to the vernacular of Christ and his Apostles in giving to 
mankind a revelation of his will and his purposes of mercy? 
Chiefly, I presume, for two reasons : Reasons for 

1. Because the Greek was in all respects a this - 
more perfect language than the Aramaean. 

2. Because, through the conquests of Alexander the Great, 
and the constant intercourse between the Greeks and the 
Romans, the Greek language had, for about three hundred 
years, been the common medium of communication through- 
out the whole civilized world. 

But the Greek of which I now speak, was not the Greek 
of Plato and Demosthenes. By the conquests origin of the 
of Alexander the Great, the hitherto independ- Hdienic'ina- 
ent States of Greece were all fused into one lect - 
empire. And as a consequence, their various dialects were 
all fused into one Common or Hellenic Dialect (fj xoevt] or tf 
^EXkyvexq ocafcxToz) ; having for its basis the ancient Attic; 
but being, at the same time, very greatly modified by the 
Ionic and the iEolic; and even still more by the Doric, 
which was the prevailing dialect of Macedonia. 

Out of this Common Dialect was formed, at an early 



388 REASON AND REVELATION. 

period of its history, by and through Hebrew and Aramaean 
origin of Hei- influence, that variety of the language, which 
leuistic Greek. s j nce the time of Scaliger (1550), has been gen- 
erally known as Hellenistic Greek ; i. e., the Greek spoken 
and written by those who were, by birth, Jews or Israelites. 
The purest specimens of this dialect now extant are found 
in the Septuagint, the Apochrypha, and the New Testament. 
It is distinguished by many peculiarities; the most impor- 
tant of which, I will briefly notice in the next section.* 

SECTION II. — Characteristics of Hellenistic Greek. 
characteristics The chief pecu ii ar i t i es f Hellenistic Greek 

ot Hellenistic L 

Greek: may be briefly summed up as follows: 

Transferred j j£ con tains many words and phrases, which 

words and ° ± ' 

phrases. are never found in the classic authors. E. g. : 

1. Apfia, father; Chal. K3N ; Heb. 2*. (Mark xiv: 36; 
Romans viii: 15; Galatians iv: 6.) 

2. AftaSScov, Heb. p"^31$, destruction, (Revelation ix: 11 ;) 
Greek anoXkuaiv. The usual word for destroyer in Hebrew 
is rvrwp, Sept. 6 okodpeocov. (Exodus xii : 23.) 

3. AfjLTjv, Heb. \nx • properly an adjective, true, faithful : 
also as an adverb, truly. 

4. AxeXda/ia, Aramaean ^pn., a field, and KO*^ blood. (Acts 
i: 19.) 

5. Appayeddcov, Armageddon, Heb. T?, a mountain, and 
^J?, Megiddo. (Revelations xvi: 16.) 

6. Bvjdeada, Bethesda, Aram, rpp^ house, and **79"> mercy, 
(John v: 2.) 

7. Brfiavta, Bethany ; Heb. rv3^ a house, and Tn, dates. 

8. IlapadzKJOQ, Paradise; Heb. DT)3 from the Sanscrit 
paredeca, a pleasure garden. 

*For a full discussion of these matters, see Winer's Grammar of the 
New Testament Diction. 



HELLENISTIC GREEK. 389 

9. Asvva, Gehenna, Heb. N'J, a valley, and Dan, Hinnom: 
used as a symbol of Hell. (Matthew v : 22.) 

10. Eazavaiz or oazav, Satan; Heb. [Sfr, an adversary ; 
Gr. 6 diafiaXos. 

All such words are mere Oriental terms in Greek letters. 
And hence their meaning must be sought for, not in the 
Greek, but in the language or dialect from which they are 
taken. 

11. The second characteristic of Hellenistic Greek consists in 
the use of ma ny words and ph rases of Greek origin ; Greek word8 
but which are, nevertheless, used in a sense that is , u?ed in * He " 

brew or Chris- 

either wholly or partially different from that which tian sense. 
icas usually given to them by profane writers E. g.: 

1. c AVc, one, in the sense of r*c or npcozoc; like the Heb. 
in« (Genesis i: 5.) Thus in Matthew viii: 19, we have &c 
ypappo~vj^, one scribe, for z*c ypapparsu^, a certain scribe. 

2. riaaa aap£, all flesh. In classic Greek this means 
simply " the whole flesh " of a man or an animal, as the case 
may be. But in Hellenistic Greek it means all mankind. 
(Acts ii: 17.) Heb. ^3-^. 



3. So ou Tzaaa aapq, Heb. ik'!- 1 ^ an, means " 



no 



,9) 



no part of mankind. (Matthew xxiv : 22 ; 1 Corinthians 
i: 29.) The negative particle, in such cases, qualifies the 
verb and not the adjective. Hence the phrase in 1 John ii: 
19, ore oux scat -avrec ec rj/icuv, should be translated "that 
none of them are of us." 

4. c Aipa zxyjztv, to pour out blood. In classic Greek, this 
means simply "to shed blood:" but in Hellenistic Greek, it 
means, u to kill" or u to put to death." The reason of this is 
found in the Jewish sacrificial formula di "]%y y Sept. at pa 
exyet ; because to shed the blood of a victim for sacrifice was 
equivalent to taking its life. 

5. The word ouapa, name, is more expressive in Hellen- 
istic Greek than it is in either the Hellenic or the classic. 



390 REASON AND REVELATION. 

In the latter it was a mere arbitrary sign of the person so 
designated. But in the former, it was also expressive of the 
attributes and characteristics of the person referred to. And 
hence in Hebrew and Hellenistic Greek the words QP and 
ovatia (name) are each made equivalent to the person which 
it represents. The expression, " Calling on the name of the 
Lord" is equivalent to calling on the Lord himself. 

6. The word ay.avba.lov is used in Hellenic Greek for 
the older classic form oxavoatydpov to denote the stick in 
a trap to which the bait is fastened : i. e., the trap-spring. 
But in the Septuagint, it is used for ^to?"?, an offense, a snare, 
a stumbling-block. And hence in the New Testament, axav- 
dah^co means to stumble, or to cause to stumble. 

7. The word GTilay^va in Hellenic and classic Greek, 
means simply the intestines. But in Hellenistic Greek, it 
is used for the Hebrew word D'pn^ bowels, mercies, affec- 
tions; from on!}, to love. 

In all such cases, we must go to the Hebrew and not to 
the Greek for the meaning. 

III. The chief and most important characteristic of Tlellen- 
a leaning and istic Greek, consists in a marked and sensible ap- 
to^hTHebrew proximation or leaning to the Hebrew style and 
construction. construction, ivhenever the Hebrew idiom differs 
from that of the Greek. This may be seen in such cases as 
the following: 

1. In the frequent use of prepositions to express what the 
cases of this. Greeks were wont to express simply by means 
frequent use of of cases. E. g., ddtooz ano tod hfiaroc for ddtooc 
Prepositions. TOl> ^ aT0 ^ J am innocent of the blood. (Mat- 
thew xxvii: 24.) c 0fio?,oy^<rco ev aorw for bfioloy^aco auruj, 
"I will confess hrm." (Matthew x : 32.) The cause of this 
difference is, that the Hebrews had no case-endings: and 
hence they were compelled to resort more frequently than 



of Personal 
Pronouns. 



HELLENISTIC GREEK. 391 

the Greeks to the use of prepositions, in order to express 
clearly the relations of words to each other. 

2. In the use of fewer conjunctions. In both the Septu- 
agint and the Xew Testament xai is often used Paucity of 
for a/la, xat~zp or xaczoc : and yap or odv is used Con J unctiODS - 
for &T6i 9 wrrzs, or ozt. This again is owing to the Hebrew 
custom of expressing many relations by the same conjunction. 

3. In the use of nouns for adjectives. E. g.: Sons of God 
for godly men; sons of Bcllel for wicked men; uonnBfor 
newness of life for a new life. Adjectives. 

4. In the frequent use of the possessive case of Personal 
Pronouns instead of the Possessive Adjective _ . . 

» Genitive case 

Pronouns. E. g., ao'j for cro^, or t , oov; poo or 

e/w'j for epo:, zpr h epov ; aurou or aurq for 6c or 

koc, vj, 6v ; rjptov for i^pterepOQ ; upcov for upezspoc ; durwu 

for acoc or acizzpoz. This arises from the Jewish habit 

of using personal suffixes. 

5. In the use of the Personal Pronoun after the Relative 
to express more particularly its person, num- PerBOna , Pro 
ber, and gender. The Hebrews had but one n°»" » f ter the 
Relative Pronoun ; and it was indeclinable. And 

hence the necessity of expressing its person, number, and 
gender by an additional Personal Pronoun. This construc- 
tion occurs very frequently in the Septuagint, and occasion- 
ally in the Xew Testament. E. g., : q yq e<p r^ ao xazocxet^ 
ex avrqz, "the land whereon thou liest, upon it." (Genesis 
xxviii : 23.) Oh zw pebhoru ahzou iddqze, bv whose stripes 
of him ye were healed. 

6. In the uses of the tenses of verbs. The Hebrews had 
but two tenses : the Preterite and the Future. 

-r-k /~\ • oi Tenses of verbs. 

And they had no Potential, Optative, or Sub- 
junctive mood. All that the Greeks expressed by these 
moods, the Hebrews attempted to express by their Future 
tense; generally lengthened in the first person, and short- 



392 REASON AND REVELATION. 

ened in the second and third. And hence it is, that in Hel- 
lenistic Greek, the Future Indicative is often put for any- 
tense of the Optative, Potential, or Subjunctive mood. E.g.: 
In Matthew xii : 31, 32, it is said : Ttaaa kfiapTta xat $Xao- 
(prjfica a<ped7j<T£Tcu tocz avdpconot^, x. r. X. Here the Future 
Indicative passive of the verb dcpcqpi is evidently used for 
the Present Potential. The meaning is, "All sin and blas- 
phemy may be forgiven men." In Romans vi: 5, the Fu- 
ture Indicative eaopeds is put for the Imperfect Optative 
iiy/iev. The meaning is, " We should be in the likeness of 
his resurrection." 

7. In the use of the Nominative Case Absolute instead of 
Nominative an y other case, after the government has been 
case Absolute. once c J ear Jy indicated in a preceding word or 
clause. E. g. y ii^ tov tottov tov izovypov totzov totzoc, bo do 
anzcperai. "Into this place, this evil place: a place where 
seed is not sown." (Numbers xx: 5.) Km to opo$ sxohsto 
nope £co<z too obpavoo, (Txotoz, yvoipo^, OoeXXa. "And the 
mountain burned with fire, even to the midst of heaven : 
{with) darkness, and a black cloud, and a tempest." (Deu- 
teronomy iv: 11.) These are not solecisms but Hebraisms. 
By this construction, great emphasis is given to the words 
put in the Nominative Case Absolute. 

From the preceding examples, then, it is evident that we 
have given in the New Testament, three distinct 

Three elements ° 7 

of the New elements, viz., the Greek, the Hebrew, and the 
Christian. The words and letters are Greek; 
the idiom is a mixture of the Greek and Hebrew ; and the 
thoughts are Christian. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 393 



CHAPTER IV. 

FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 

SECTION I.— Faith. 

" For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness" 
(Romans x: 10.) 

There is, perhaps, no truth more fully illustrated in 
the whole Bible, than that God requires every BlessinCTS 
man to do something, as a test of his loyalty, promised con- 

-, , ,. . n 1 T ditionally. 

and also as a condition ot enjoying that salva- 
tion which Christ has purchased with his own blood. Al- 
most every page of the Living Oracles contains some pre- 
cept that is to be obeyed, in order to the enjoyment of some 
blessing that is promised. Even in Eden, Adam was re- 
quired to abstain from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, 
as a condition of his having free and continued access to the 
Tree of Life. So, too, were the Israelites in the wilderness 
required to be obedient in all things, as a condition of their 
entering the Promised Land. And, in like manner, Christ 
offers rest to all who are weary and heavy-laden, on con- 
dition that they come to him ; take his yoke upon them ; 
and continue to learn of him.* 

What these terms and conditions of enjoyment are, can, 
of course, be learned only from the Holy Bible. Tbe condition 
It is the only revelation that God has ever made of 8alv * tion - 

•* revealed only 

to fallen man, on the subject of his salvation in the Bible 
♦Matthew xi: 28-30. 



394 EEASON AND REVELATION. 

from sin. On this point, nature is a perfect blank ; and all 
human philosophy is as silent as the grave. And hence it 
follows, that to the Bible, and the Bible alone, we must ever 
look for all the terms and conditions on which life and im- 
mortality have been offered to guilty man. 

Some of these are in their nature and character, positive : 
Two kinds of that is, they depend wholly on God's legislative 

stipulated con- . . . t .-, n -, -, -, 

ditions: the appointments; and may. therefore be changed, 
the S1 Nltui a a n i d or ^y Divine authority, according to circumstances. 
Moral. The offering of sacrifices, for example, was, for 

many years, made the duty of every patriarch. He was re- 
quired to offer frequently bleeding victims both for himself 
and for his family. But the law of Moses restricted this 
privilege to the house of Aaron. None but the priests, 
under the Sinaic covenant, could legally officiate at the 
altar.* And since the advent of the Messiah, the legal cus- 
tom of offering animal sacrifices has been wholly abolished. 
Spiritual sacrifices are the only kind that is now required.f 
Other conditions are immutable. They are founded on 
God's creative appointments and arrangements : they depend 
on the nature of things and on the moral relations that man 
sustains to his Creator : and they are therefore essentially 
the same in all ages and under all circumstances. Faith is 
one of these natural and essential conditions. 

Faith, a natu- 
ral and essen- And hence it has always been required as a con- 

tial condition. ,.,. 1 n -, . Tl -. 

dition and means of salvation. It was required 
in the Patriarchal Age ; it was required in the Jewish Age ; 
and it is still required in the Christian Age. And so it ever 
must and it ever will be required of all who would enjoy 
the great salvation. " For he that comes to God must believe 
that he is ; and that he is the rewarder of them that dili- 
gently seek him.^J 

* Numbers iii: 10 and xviii: 3. J Hebrews xi: 6. 

|1 Peter ii: 5. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 395 

But it is important to observe just here, that God never 
requires of any man, what is impossible. If he Faith attain . 
requires us to behold his glory in the firma- able - 
ment, it is because he has given to us both light and the 
powers of vision. If he requires us to hearken to the sweet 
melodies of nature, it is because he has given us an atmos- 
phere to conduct sound to our ears, and auditory nerves to 
communicate it to the sensorium. And just so, if he re- 
quires us to believe, it is because he has endowed us with 
the necessary faculties, and given us, at the same time, the 
most reliable and indubitable testimony. This is a matter 
which Christ himself places beyond all doubt. In speaking 
of his rejection by the Jews, he says : " If I had not come 
and spoken unto them, they had not had sin ; but now," he 
adds, "they have no cloak for their sin." And again he 
says : " If I had not done among them the works which no 
other man did, they had not had sin; but now they have 
both seen and hated both me and my Father." * 

The first thing, then, that God requires of every man who 
hears the Gospel, is evidently to study it; and to „. 

17 <J *> * First requisite 

weigh well the evidences of its Divine authenticity, in order to 
It is here that every successful attempt at refor- 
mation must begin. For without testimony there is no 
faith ; and without faith, it is impossible to please God in 
any thing, " for whatever is not of faith is sin." f 

We can not, then, study the Bible too diligently. We 
can not too earnestly impress it on the tender minds and 
hearts of the rising generation. We can not sacrifice too 
much in our efforts to send it to the benighted nations of 
the earth ; to those that are perishing through the ignorance 
that is in them. It is the germ of immortality, which, when 
planted in the soul, buds, and blossoms, and brings forth the 
peaceable fruits of righteousness and love. 

*John xv : 22, 24. f Romans xiv : 23. 



396 REASON AND REVELATION. 

I wish, however, to say here very emphatically, that 
This aione not something more than the mere study of God's 
sufficient. word, is essential to the perfection and consum- 

mation of our faith. A man may read his Bible more or 
less every day ; and he may study, with much care and logi- 
cal precision, the varied and multiplied evidences of its gen- 
uineness, its authenticity, its integrity, and its inspiration; 
and still he may come far short of the faith that the Gospel 
requires. For as the Spirit itself testifies, " It is with the 
heart that man believeth unto righteousness." 

It is not my purpose to give here an analysis of the powers 
and susceptibilities of the human mind; nor to go into a 
logical or metaphysical disquisition respecting the intellect 
and the heart of man. This is not necessary for my present 
purpose. My readers, no doubt, all sufficiently understand 
this matter. They know that it belongs to the intellect to 
think ; and to the heart to feel. They know that the former 
is the seat of perception, memory, imagination, and reason ; 
and that the latter is the seat of the emotions, the affections, 
and the desires. 

They know, moreover, that these two faculties of the mind 
do not always act in concert and harmony with 

Reason of this. . 9 

each other; that the intellect, for example, is 
often exercised on one object, while the heart is firmly fixed 
on something else. Of this all are conscious. And many, 
at least, are also conscious, that this distraction of mind 
occurs more frequently on the subject of religion than on 
any thing else. God has so multiplied the evidences of 
Christianity, that a man in this country might about as 
well attempt to shut out the light of the sun from his eyes, 
as to shut out the light of the Gospel from his understand- 
ing. These evidences are seen in the Bible itself; they are 
seen in profane history ; they are seen in the fulfillment of 
prophecy ; they are seen in the effects of the Gospel on so- 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 397 

ciety ; they are seen every-where. And hence it is, that al- 
most every intelligent person in this country is willing and 
ready to give an intellectual assent to the Divine authen- 
ticity of the Christian religion. But how many of us believe 
with all our hearts? Ah, this is the question. 

Before any man can do this, his heart must be set free from 
its earthly attachments, and allowed to accompany 

... . r i i Second requi- 

res understanding in the investigation of the truth, site in order to 

This is the one thing needful, so far as it re- 
spects human agency. When this is done, we may say that 
all is done. The intellect, then, immediately conveys the 
truth to the heart ; the heart then influences and directs the 
will ; the will controls the hand ; the hand opens the purse ; 
and the purse, properly directed, sets in motion the whole 
machinery of society for the glory of God and the good of 
humanity. And hence it is, that the true believer has no 
compromise to make with God. He never stops to inquire 
how much he must do, or how little he may do, in order to 
get to Heaven. His only question is, " Lord, what will 
thou have me to do?" When this is ascertained, he no 
longer confers with flesh and blood. 

"Through floods and flames, if Jesus lead, 
He'll follow where he goes." 

To set our hearts free, then, from all the undue and evil 
influences that the world, the flesh, and the devil, have thrown 
around them, is evidently the second, and, I may add, the 'para- 
mount duty of every man who hears the Gospel of the grace of 
God; as it is also an essential condition of that faith which 
works by love, and which purifies the soul. I do not say 
that it is made the duty of any man to do this Possibility of 
simply by his own unaided efforts; nor do I doin s this - 
say that any man, whatever may be his capacity, can do all 
this, solely in and of himself. In this respect, we have no 



398 REASON AND REVELATION. 

ability to do any thing. "Without me," says Christ, "ye 
can do nothing." * We can not even live a single moment 
without him. But nevertheless, he has allowed us to have 
some agency in the preservation of our own lives as well as 
in the lives of others. And just so it is with respect to the 
discipline and government of our hearts. We can never 
control and purify them by our devices. But with the 
proper use of the means that God has himself provided, 
and with the gracious assistance that he has promised to 
give us, we may all do so, and do so most effectually, if we 
will. 

It is only necessary to change our circumstances, and to 
place ourselves under the influence of Divine 

Way and J- 

meansofac- grace, in order to feel a corresponding change in 

complishing it. , , , , , . TT 

our whole mental and moral constitution. How 
often, for example, have we felt that our hearts were being 
gradually weaned from the world and its vanities, while we 
were attending a protracted meeting; while we were listen- 
ing to the pleadings of the sanctuary, or to the songs of Zion, 
or to the prayers of God's children ? Under these circum- 
stances, we have felt that it is good to be with Jesus; and 
like Peter, James, and John, when they saw his glory on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, we may, perhaps, have wished for 
tabernacles in some secluded spot, where we might be per- 
mitted to remain with him forever. 

But oh, how very different are the influences of this vain 
world! When we neglect, even for a short time, the ordi- 
nances of God, and allow our affections to be absorbed in 
the things of time and sense, how very hard and insensible 
our hearts soon become; and how greatly changed is the 
appearance of every thing else, both within us, and around 
us ! The heavens above us seem to lose much of their 
brightness ; the Church, too, loses many of her charms and 

* John xv : 5. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 399 

attractions; and Jesus himself, it may be, is no longer to us 
the one altogether lovely. And all this, be it remembered, 
has been brought about by a change of circumstances which 
are in a great measure under our own control. O, yes, we 
have an agency in these matters. Otherwise, God would 
never have said to each of us, " Son, give me thy heart ;" * 
otherwise, he would never have commanded us "to watch 
over our hearts with all diligence." f 

Let us then, dear reader, give good heed to these admoni- 
tions. Let us ever remember that it is not a XT 4 

Nature and in- 
mere cold assent of the understanding that will flu. nee of a 

save us from our sins ; that will serve to make 
us pure and holy ; that will unite us to God as the children 
of his adoption ; and that will give us a title clear to man- 
sions in the skies. O, no; it is with the heart, as well as 
with the understanding, that man believeth unto righteous- 
ness. It is this living principle, that, through the agency of 
the Holy Spirit, fills the soul with love, and joy, and peace, 
and long-suffering, and gentleness, and goodness, and fidel- 
ity, and meekness, and temperance. It is this, that pre- 
pares us for the solemn hour of death; and that, through 
fhe infinite grace of God, gives us an abundant entrance 
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. 

While, then, God is giving us life and reason, and while 
he is aiding us and warning us, by his Spirit and Admonition to 
by his providence, let us all be more diligent in seek for jt - 
turning our hearts from the unsatisfying vanities of this world, 
to him, who, of God, has become unto us wisdom, and right- 
eousness, and sanctification, and redemption ; so that when he 
who is our life shall appear, we also may appear with him in 
glory. 

* Proverbs xxiii : 26. f Proverbs iv: 23. 



400 REASON AND REVELATION. 



SECTION II.— Formalism. 

"Having a form of godliness; but denying the power thereof." 
(2 Timothy iii : 5.) 

Faith, says Paul, comes by hearing the word of God ; that 
on in and 1S > ^y an( ^ through the careful study and critical 

prevalence of a examination of the testimony that God has given 
to mankind, in his Holy Oracles, concerning his 
only and well-beloved Son. And hence, as I endeavored to 
show in the preceding section, it always begins with the un- 
derstanding. Afterward, it reaches and permeates the heart ; 
and through the heart, it influences and controls the will. 
And thus it is, that it finally brings our whole persons, with 
all their attributes and accidents, under the dominion and 
government of our blessed and adorable Redeemer. 

And hence it is, that the faith of the Gospel ahcays implies 
Always implies ^ ie obedience of the Gospel. When Paul says, for 
obedience. example, that the Gospel is the power of God for 

salvation to every one that believes it ; he does not mean to 
say that it is the power of God for salvation to every one 
that merely yields an intellectual assent to the truth of the 
proposition, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son 
of the living God. Nay verily : for he says afterward, in 
the same letter, that it is with the heart that man believes unto 
righteousness.* And in his letter to the Hebrews, he says, 
that it was by and through this ever-active, vivifying, and 
fruit-bearing principle, that Noah was moved to build an 
ark for the saving of his house ; that Abraham was induced 
to offer his son Isaac upon the altar ; and that many of the 
other ancient worthies were enabled to work righteousness, 
obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence 
of fire, escape the edge of the sword, gain strength in weak- 

* Romans x: 10. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 401 

ness, become valiant in fight, and put to flight the armies of 
the aliens.* 

It is evident, then, as Sir Humphrey Davy well remarks, 
that " Faith is one of the greatest and best gifts 
that God has ever bestowed on man." As a means of enjoy- 
means of enjoyment, nothing else will compare 
with it. It is the eye of the soul that enables it to perceive 
and to appropriate the beauties and the glories of the spiritual 
universe. It is the ear that fills the soul with, the melodies 
of heaven. It is the taste that gives us a relish for the 
bread and the water of eternal life. It is the olfactory 
sense that regales us with the sweet odors of Paradise. It 
is the spiritual touch that brings us into direct contact with 
the invisible world; that fills the heart with peace, and love, 
and joy ; that brings us into the enjoyment of a whole uni- 
verse of pleasure that lies far away beyond the regions of 
mortal sense. And it is, in a word, as Paul testifies, the 
substance or foundation of all our hopes, and the demon- 
stration and realization of things that are unseen. f 

No wonder, then, that infidelity is every-where regarded 
and represented in the Bible, as one of the great- 
est evils that can possibly befall any man. True fidelity to 

.,-... ,. T . , Faith. 

indeed, it is a mere negation. It is the mere 
absence of faith; just as darkness is the absence of light; 
and just as cold is the absence of heat. But nevertheless, 
it has, on every one that is subject to it, a very positive in- 
fluence for evil. It deprives the soul of all the happiness 
that faith imparts to it ; and finally, it consigns both soul 
and body to the blackness of darkness forever and ever. 

It is not, however, as some seem to suppose, a fixed and 
definite negation. Like its prototype darkness, It8 8hades and 
it has every possible grade and shade of intensity, variations - 
from the first decline of faith, to its absolute extinction in 
* Hebrews xi. t Hebrews xi : 1. 

26 



402 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the human soul. And hence it is, that it is so very difficult 
to describe this Chameleon or Proteus — like negation; to 
enumerate and classify its phases ; and to treat of it with 
any degree of logical precision and accuracy. And indeed 
it is not often necessary to do this. The best way to remove 
darkness from a room, is to fill it with light. And the best 
way to remove all infidelity from the soul, is to fill it with 
faith which comes to us through the multiplied evidences 
of God's love. 

But sometimes there is an advantage in looking at the 
Advantage of negative, as well as at the positive side of a ques- 

understanding .. a i ji j_ • i x 

its Forms and tion. And there are certainly some prominent 
Phases. features and forms of infidelity which all persons 

should endeavor to understand. If a knowledge of them 
does not serve directly to promote and to increase our hap- 
piness; it may do so indirectly, by guarding us against the 
snares and vices into which, they are ever prone to betray 
the unwary. If it does not fill the soul with the joys of the 
redeemed, it may at least help to save it from the agonies of 
the damned. To the very brief consideration, then, of some 
of the most prominent and popular forms of infidelity, I now 
respectfully invite the attention and consideration of my 
readers. 

The first of these is that to which the Apostle refers in our 
introductory quotation from his second letter to 

First grade or J *■ _ 

species of inn- Timothy. It is commonly called Jbormalism; 
and as its name implies, it consists in having the 

mere form of godliness without its power. It is the body of 

religion, or rather, it is its lifeless carcass without its soul. 

It is a disease of the heart. 

As a form of infidelity, it is peculiar to no time or place. 
"Wherever true religion has prevailed, there 
Formalism has, to some extent, prevailed also. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 403 

The ancient Hebrews were often charged with it ; * so too 
were the Pharisees.f But it is in the Church of Rome, that 
Formalism has received its fullest and most complete devel- 
opment. And it is probable, that it is to this phase of it, 
that Paul particularly alludes in his letter to Timothy. J But 
be this as it may, one thing is very certain, that Formalism 
is not now confined to the Catholics. It exists, to a most 
alarming extent, among all classes of Protestants. Indeed 
it would be difficult to give a more perfect description of 
modern Christendom, than the Apostle has given in this 
short paragraph. These are certainly perilous times. There 
is also now a great amount of selfishness in the Church, and 
covetousness. Many who profess to be the followers of Jesus, 
are " boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, 
unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-break- 
ers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that 
are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure 
more than lovers of God ; having a form of godliness, but 
denying the power thereof." 

But wherever Formalism exists, whether among Jews or 
Gentiles, Catholics or Protestants, it always proceeds from 
one and the same cause ; it may always be traced back to one 
and the same source. It is, in all eases, a com- B . . 

' ' Source and ori- 

promise between conflicting principles; between gin of Formai- 
the natural tendency of the sold to icorship God, 
and the preternatural alienation of the heart from him. The 
fact is manifest, that mankind will worship something; and 
it is, moreover, just as manifest, that they will worship this 
real or imaginary divinity, whatever it may be, under some 
material form, or through some material medium. Such is 
man's nature, and such is his history. But under the full 
blaze of Christianity, men are almost compelled to assent to 

* Isaiah i: 10-15, and xxix: 13,14. % 2 Timothy iii: 1-5. 

t Matthew xxiii : 23-28. 



404 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the claims of its evidence. They concede that it is from God ; 
and many are constrained to accept and to adopt its form of 
worship. But the misfortune is, that in many cases, their 
hearts are not in it. Their spirits do not lay hold of it, and 
appropriate it as a means of union, communion, and fellow- 
ship with God, through Christ. Like the ancient Israelites, 
many of us are still prone to worship God with our lips, 
while our hearts are far from him.* 

And hence it is evident that Formalism, wherever found, 
why it is worse is utterly worthless. We might as well attempt 
than useless. ^ sa tisfy the appetite, and to supply the wants 
of the body, with the mere pictures or shadows of bread and 
water, as to satisfy the desires, of the soul with the empty 
forms and ceremonies of any system of religion. So teaches 
the Holy Bible.f So teaches all sound philosophy, and so 
teaches all human experience. 

Indeed, a merely formal profession of religion is always 
worse than useless. I know of no condition that is so much 
to be dreaded as that of the formalist ; as that of the man 
who is nominally alive in the Church, but who is really dead 
in spirit. O, it is bad enough to go down into perdition 
under any circumstances ; even amidst the errors and dark- 
ness of heathen superstition. But to hear the awful anath- 
ema, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," after we 
have been baptized into the sacred name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit ; after we have had our 
names inscribed on the rolls of the Church, and been al- 
lowed to participate in all her rites and ordinances — this, it 
seems to me, is the very consummation of human woe ! O, 
wretched state of deep despair, how can any one endure it ! 

The very thought of such a state seems to us dreadful and 
our danger horrible in the extreme. But it is rendered 
ment s n . C ° Urage doubly so, from the reflection that many of us 
* Isaiah, xxix : 13, 14. f Isaiah i: 10-15, and John iv: 24. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 405 

will, in all probability, have to endure it, unless we amend 
our lives. O, brethren, what a contrast there is between the 
cold and heartless formality of our lives, and the standard 
of piety and practical godliness that is required by the Holy 
Scriptures ! 

But let us not, however, be discouraged. God our Father 
loves us and pities us. Christ, our elder Brother, has died 
for us; nay more, he lives for us; and he has sent his Holy 
Spirit to comfort us, and to help our infirmities. We have, 
moreover, the blessed Bible to guide us. And all that is 
now necessary, and that is now required of us, is, that we 
give up our hearts to God, that we be united to Christ ; that 
we believe in him, and love him and serve him with all our 
hearts, and with all our souls, and with all our strength, 
and with all our understanding. 

Let us do this, and then all will be well. For then, in- 
deed, we can say with Paul, that all things are ours, whether 
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, 
or things present, or things to come ; all are ours, and we 
are Christ's, and Christ is God's. Then, indeed, life, with 
all its cares and labors, will be but a pleasure to us ; and 
death itself will be but a calm sleep, a state of sweet repose, 
from which we will finally wake up to partake of the joys, 
and honors, and pleasures of God's everlasting kingdom. 
There, there is rest for the weary soul ; there, there is full- 
ness of joy; and there, there are pleasures for evermore. 

SECTION III.— Indifferentism. 

" Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speed- 
ily ', therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to 
do evil.'' (Ecclesiastes viii: 11.) 

There is in the natural world, or under the the physical 
government of God, a very close connection between cause 



406 REASON AND REVELATION. 

and effect: between the transgression of a law, and the in- 
connection be- fliction of the penalty that God has connected 
tween the with it, and that he has made conseq nent upon 

transgression ' l 1 

of law and the it. No man can thrust his hand into the fire, 
Gods physical and not be burned instantly. No one can pro- 
government. j ect n i rase if f rom a \ fty eminence, under the 

influence of gravitation, without being at once dashed into 
pieces. 

But under the present administration of God's moral gov- 
(2) in his moral eminent, the case is somewhat different. Here, 
government. tne penalty is often, in a great measure, sus- 
pended for a time. And hence it is that the liar, the thief, 
the profane swearer, and even the murderer, may escape 
the full measure of their desert, for weeks, and months, and 
years together. 

This is no doubt a most benevolent arrangement. Indeed, 
Eeasonofthis it ^' s the on ty arrangement that is possible under 
difference. our p resen t state of probation. God is now long- 

suffering; not being willing that any should perish, but that 
all should be brought to reformation. But like every other 
Divine blessing, this forbearance of God has been miscon- 
strued and misinterpreted by thousands, to their own ruin 
and condemnation. Because sentence against their evil deeds 
Effect of this is n °t executed speedily, their hearts are fully 
delay- set in them to do evil. Some of them seem to 

imagine that there is really no such thing as a moral gov- 
ernment over the universe. They suppose that every thing 
happens merely as a matter of chance or accident. Others 
seem to admit the existence of God's moral government. 
But then they allege, that its administration is altogether 
uncertain and capricious. They seem to think, indeed, that 
it is a matter purely arbitrary with God, whether he should 
punish any one ; or whether he should permit all transgres- 
sions of his law to pass with impunity. Others, again, sup- 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 407 

pose that God is so very kind, merciful, and benevolent, that 
he will surely make all his creatures happy in some way. 

The tendency of all such theories and speculations is very 
obvious. Though differing much in their details, they all 
lead to the same ruinous consequences. They all serve to 
weaken, if not indeed to destroy, our sense of responsibility 
to God ; and, of course, to make us indifferent to the claims 
of the Divine government. 

This, then, is the second stage or form of infidelity, to which 
I wish to call the attention of my readers. The ., . . 

J Second grade or 

first, as I have explained it, is called Formal- species of iufi- 
ism. It consists in a form of godliness, without 
its power. But the species of infidelity, now under consid- 
eration, has neither the form nor the power of godliness. It 
consists in the denial of man's responsibility ; and in the conse- 
quent indifference which all who are under its influence show 
with respect to the claims of the Divine government. And hence, 
for the sake of distinction, we shall call it Indifferentism. 

This is, perhaps, the most common form and species of 
infidelity known in this country. It is not like 

-r, -.. n i , c /» i • • Its Prevalence. 

r ormalism, confined, to professors ot religion ; 
nor, like Atheism, is it limited to non-professors. On the 
contrary, it pervades, more or less, all classes of society. It 
is owing to its influence, for example, that many neglect the 
command to search the Scriptures; to believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ; to repent of their sins; to confess the name 
of Jesus; and to be baptized into the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And it is for the 
same reason, yiz., the influence of this species of infidelity 
on the soul, that a large number of those who enter the 
Church, give no farther diligence to make their calling and 
their election sure. Most of this latter class of persons have 
no intention of rebelling against God. They never expect 
to hear the anathema, "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting 



tion on which 
it rests. 



408 REASON AND REVELATION. 

fire." But for the reason assigned, they have become stu- 
pidly and alarmingly indifferent, with respect to the one 
thing needful. 

Their error consists not so much in denying the Divine 
authenticity of the Holy Scriptures, as in prac- 

False assump- J J r 7 r 

tically neglecting what is therein contained. 

Like the ancient Sadducees, they err in not 
understanding the Scriptures, nor the power of God. And 
hence it is, that their whole system (if indeed views so 
vague, so heterogeneous, and so discordant, can be called a 
system) rests on a false assumption. They assume, con- 
trary to all evidence, that the world is now in its natural 
and normal condition ; that the Divine administration is the 
same now that it ever was, and that it ever will be. And 
hence they infer, that as many escape here the just reward 
of their deeds, so it is probable that many will in like man- 
ner escape it hereafter. 

This assumption, however, is plainly in opposition to 

both the light of nature and the evidences of Di- 

Twofold evi- . . 

dence of its in- vine Revelation. Conscience makes no separa- 
tion between the crime and its just and merited 
punishment. And though this is often partially done under 
Testimony of the present administration of God's moral gov- 
conscieuce. ernment ; the Bible assures us that it is owing 

entirely to God's forbearance and long-suffering toward 
mankind in their present state of probation ; feeling anxious, 
as he does, that as many as possible should be brought to 
repentance. But the same authority also assures us, that 
the period of our probation is limited ; and that, at its close, 
all men will be strictly and impartially judged for the deeds 
done in the body :* so that every man shall finally have to 
give an account of himself to God.f 

And hence it follows that the connection between moral 

* Romans ii : 1-16. t Romans xiv : 12. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 409 

causes and their effects, in other parts of God's universe, 
may be as close and as intimate as the connection that exists 
between physical causes and their effects. And this may be 
the case even in our own world, whenever our state of pro- 
bation shall have ended. 

But, after all, the most convincing and satisfactory way 
of settling this question is by an appeal to the Evidence from 
Divine administration itself. For although, as the act,iaI ad - 

-r 'I'll Tr> i i ministration of 

I have said, it has been somewhat modified by God's govem- 
the circumstances of man's preternatural con- 
dition, there is, nevertheless, enough in it to prove, beyond 
the possibility of a doubt, that all men are held responsible 
for every thought, and every word, and every action of their 
lives. And to this source of evidence, I therefore now re- 
spectfully invite the attention of my readers. 

What, then, let me ask, has God done for the punishment 
of transgressors ? What has he done to suppress rebellion ; 
to maintain the honor of his throne and the majesty of his 
government? What has he done by way of vindicating the 
rights of his subjects, and for the purpose of promoting peace, 
happiness, and prosperity, throughout his vast dominions? 

Or, perhaps, I should rather speak in the first place of 
what he has not done. And judging from his .„ 

J ° ° All existing 

works and from his Word, I presume that my suffering a 
readers will all concede that God has never in- 
flicted any unnecessary pain or suffering on any of his crea- 
tures. A being that has displayed so much benevolence in 
all the works of creation and providence, and that so loved 
even a rebellious world as to give his own Son for its re- 
demption, would certainly inflict no unnecessary pain on 
any thing. And if so, it follows, that whatever penalties 
men or angels have endured, have resulted from a necessity as 
profound as the being of Jehovah, and as fixed as the throne 
of his holiness. 



410 REASON AND REVELATION. 

This, then, being conceded, as I presume it will be, by 
every thoughtful and reflecting person, I again ask, what 
has God done in the way of punishing transgressors of his 
law, and for the purpose of showing to the universe that 
his moral creatures are responsible to him for all their ac- 
tions ? 

He has done much — very much ; enough, one would think, 
But angeis to silence all vain speculators ; and to secure the 
have suffered. m0 st perfect allegiance from every man who has 
an eye to see, an ear to hear, and a heart to understand the 
revelations of his will. He has cast angels out of heaven 
and thrust them down to hell. " The angels," says Jude, 
" who kept not their first estate, but left their own habita- 
tion, he has reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, 
unto the judgments of the great day." * And all this, be it 
remembered, he has done from the necessities of his own na- 
ture and government; and with a full appreciation of all 
that these fallen seraphs will have to endure throughout the 
endless cycles of eternity. 

How, then, O impenitent sinner, do you expect to escape 
the righteous judgments of God? If God spared not an 
angel, a favorite angel, perhaps at that time, or rather pre- 
vious to that time, the archangel, why do you imagine, O 
rebellious man, that you will escape the execution of his 
just and righteous vengeance? 

But perhaps Satan whispers to you that you are not an 
angel, but a man : and that to man God has always shown 
peculiar favor; and therefore, that after all, you will not 
surely die. 

If this is the ground of your hope, then let me remind 

Aii men have you that this same arch -deceiver made a similar 

comT of °Ad- C suggestion to our first parents in Eden ; and 

am's sin. fa&t that evil insinuation has deprived mankind 

* Jude, verse 6. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 411 

of the pleasure of Paradise ; that it has separated them from 
the Fountain of life and happiness ; that it has infused the 
poison of sin into their whole constitution ; and that it has 
affected their body, soul, and spirit, with ten thousand mal- 
adies ; that it has laid one hundred and forty generations in 
the dust of death j that it has clothed the Earth with mourn- 
ing, and cursed the very ground from which we seek our 
daily bread. And remember, moreover, that it has done 
all this, by simply inducing man to sin ; by leading him to 
disobey his Maker; to eat 

"Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 
Brought death into the world, and all our woe." 

Now, if one sin, and that, too, in the estimation of most 
skeptics, quite a venial sin, has done all this, — has brought all 
this ruin upon mankind, under the government and adminis- 
tration of a just, and righteous, and merciful God, then I ask, 
O sinner, what must be the legitimate and necessary conse- 
quences of all the sins that any one of us has committed, 
unless indeed they be washed away through the efficacy of 
that blood which alone can take away our sins ! You that 
make a mock of sin ; that speak of it as a light and trivial 
matter, go to the death-bed of the old, of the young, and be- 
hold what sin has done. Go into the grave-yards and cemeteries 
of Earth — go among the skeletons and scattered fragments of 
the dead, and behold what sin has done. Lift up the curtain 
that separates Earth from Hades; the visible from the invisi- 
ble ; look upon the agonizing souls of the damned, and behold 
what sin has done. 

But, it may be said, that much of this is the consequence 
of the sin committed before the promise was made that the 
seed of the woman should bruise the head of the Serpent ; 
that we now, however, live under a dispensation of peculiar 
favor and mercy ; and consequently, that we may still rea- 



412 REASON AND REVELATION. 

sonably hope for some other way of escape than through the 
obedience that the Gospel requires. 

If any of my readers are disposed to build on so uncertain 
„„ . , a foundation, then let me refer you to the his- 

All have sur- •> 

fered for their tory of the deluge ; to the overthrow of Sodom 

personal sins. , ~ - ... n . . 

and Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plain. 
Let me refer you to the history of God's chosen people ; to 
their punishment in the wilderness and in Canaan; to their 
captivity in Assyria and Babylon; to their subjugation by 
the Romans ; to the destruction of their city and their tem- 
ple; and to their captivity and oppression in all nations for 
the last eighteen hundred years. Let me remind you of 
the ruins of Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome; 
and of the woes pronounced by our benevolent Redeemer 
on those cities in which most of his mighty works were 
done, because they repented not. " Woe," said he, " unto 
thee Chorazin ; woe unto thee Bethsaida; for if the mighty 
works which have been done in you had been done in Tyre 
and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth 
and ashes. But I say unto you, it will be more toleraMe 
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for yan. 
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt 
be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which 
have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would 
have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it 
will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of 
judgment than for you."* 

This does not sound much like universal salvation. This 
is not a license to continue in sin, because grace has 
abounded. But it is a very plain illustration of a prin- 
ciple that has ever been recognized and adopted by all just 
governments, human and Divine: that wherever much is 
given, there much should also be required. 
•Matt, xi: 21-24. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 413 

What, then, careless and impenitent sinner, will be your 
doom, when all men shall be judged according to this prin- 
ciple for the deeds done in the body? When the inhabit- 
ants of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum shall be ban- 
ished with an everlasting destruction from the presence of the 
Lord, where will you stand? You have enjoyed, it may 
be, the full evidence of our Savior's mission. You live 
under the full-orbed glory of the Sun of Righteousness. 
There is now no obstacle in the way of your obedience ; no 
enemy to terrify you ; no persecuting arm to bind you to 
the stake. You have an open Bible ; and in it you have all 
things pertaining to life and godliness. What, then, must 
of necessity be your portion, if you neglect this great sal- 
vation ? 

I acknowledge, with thankfulness, that the Gospel is a 
dispensation of mercy ; that Jesus Christ has, by the grace 
of God r tasted death for every man ; that God has set him 
forth as a propitiation for our sins, to demonstrate his right- 
eousness in passing by the sins committed, both before and 
after the coming of the Messiah ; and also to open up a new 
and living way through which God's mercy might freely flow 
to penitent sinners. 

But, while the gift of Jesus Christ is the fullest exhibition 
of God's love to the world, it is also at the same The death of 
time the very highest demonstration of his justice, den J s e ' f nJn'a 
and of the obsolute inflexibility of that law which responsibility. 
would be satisfied with a sacrifice of no less value. It presents 
to us a view of the majesty, the purity, and the holiness of 
the Divine government, which has called forth the admiration 
of angels. It enables us to understand why it is that the 
heavens and the earth should pass away rather than that 
one jot or tittle of the law should fail; and why it is that 
the Gospel is a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death, 
to all who hear it. And while it is said that Jesus Christ 



414 REASON AND REVELATION. 

has become the author of eternal salvation to all them that 
obey him, we can now comprehend why the Spirit should 
add that the same merciful Savior shall be revealed from 
Heaven in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that do not 
acknowledge God, and that obey not the Gospel of his grace. 

Better, then, O careless sinner, that you had never been 
born ; that you had never heard of Jesus ; that you had lived 
in some dark recess of this sin-stained earth, where the light 
of the Sun of Righteousness has never shone, than that you 
should live and die in this land of Bibles neglecting the 
solemn warnings, admonitions, and precepts of the Gospel. 

This, then, is a subject in which every man has a deep 
. , . and abiding personal interest. It is a matter 

Practical lm- ° L 

portanceof that concerns us all for time and for eternity. 
If it does not, like the known love of God, fill 
the soul directly with heavenly peace and holy joy, it may 
do so at least indirectly, by restraining us from the commis- 
sion of many crimes that might otherwise lead to our ruin. 
If it takes away all hope from the willfully and pertina- 
ciously disobedient, it, at the same time, gives to the hum- 
ble, consistent, obedient followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
a pledge of safety and security that never could be enjoyed 
under a Government that is carelessly and imperfectly ad- 
ministered. To all such, it is an anchor of the soul, sure 
and steadfast. 

SECTION IV.— Spiritualism. 

"Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and 
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of 
the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians ii : 8.) 

Guide of infe- I* * s a f act generally conceded by. students of 

rior animals. na ture, that God has given to all animals inferior 
to man, a perfect guide. They have all in the gift of in- 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 415 

stinct a perfect rule of action. Under the influence of this 
mysterious principle, every species perfectly fulfills the ob- 
ject of its existence. Thus, for example, the bee constructs 
its comb, and distills its honey, with a degree of accuracy 
that baffles the skill of the most profound mathematician and 
the most skillful chemist. And just so it is with most other 
species of animals, whether living on earth, in air, or in 
water. They all work with the most perfect accuracy in ac- 
complishing the object for which they were created.* 

But to man God has given no such natural powers or fac- 
ulties. The infant is the most helpless and de- Mall( destitute 
pendent creature on earth. It learns every thing of such a s uide - 
by the slow process of experience ; and even as it grows up 
to manhood, it is wont to commit the most serious blunders 
and mistakes in the gravest, as well as in the most common 
concerns of life. Thus, for instance, while all bees are labor- 
ing incessantly toward one and the same end, one man is 
pursuing wealth as his chief good ; another is seeking after 
power; another, after political or military distinction; an- 
other, after knowledge ; and a few only are earnestly striving 
to attain to celestial honor, and glory, and immortality. 

The reason of this distinction between man and the infe- 
rior animals, has long been a question with naturalists. But 
it is a question to which the natural man has never given a 
satisfactory answer; though it is a subject of which he has 
often sorely complained. The elder Pliny, after contemplat- 
ing and examining this subject as far as the Reflections of 
light of nature and philosophy could carry him, theelderpl "»y. 
concludes his reflections in the following melancholy strain : 
" A being," says he, " full of contradictions, man is the most 
wretched of creatures; since the other creatures have no wants 
transcending the bounds of their nature. Man is full of de- 
sires and wants that reach to infinity ; and which can never 
* Parker's Discourse on Religion, p. 136. 



416 REASON AND REVELATION. 

be satisfied. His nature is a lie, uniting the greatest pov- 
erty with the greatest pride. Among these so great evils, 
the best thing that God has bestowed on man is the power 
to take his own life." 

The light of Divine revelation is, therefore, necessary to 
_. a . . the solution of this problem. With its aid, all 

The Scripture * ' 

solution of the is plain, clear and satisfactory. In it we are 
taught that God designed that he himself should 
be man's guide; and that for this purpose, and with this 
view, he formed him after his own image, and after his own 
likeness. And for a time, it seems that he admitted him 
into his own immediate presence, and spoke to him with all 
the kindness, and love, and familiarity of a father. That 
was the golden age of humanity, when God conducted Adam 
and his lovely bride through the green pastures of Eden, 
and led them beside its still waters. 

But soon sin broke oif this happy union. It very soon 
interrupted the familiar and agreeable intercourse that origi- 
nally existed between man and his Creator. God no longer 
conversed with him, face to face, as friend to friend. He 
very justly and very benevolently withdrew his presence 
from erring man. But even then he did not leave mankind 
without a guide. He gave us the Bible — the Holy Bible — 
to lead and direct us in the way of holiness; till readmitted 
into the presence of our God, we shall see as we are seen, 
and know even as also we are known. 

Happy, then, is the man that makes the Bible the guide of 
m „.„ his life. It has already conducted millions of 

The Bihle, ^ . . 

man's guide of our race within the vail, whither the forerunner 
has for us entered, even Jesus who is made a 
High Priest forever, after the order of Melchisedech. And, 
guided by its precepts, many others are still on their way to 
glory. Wherever its influence is felt, like the river of God^ 
it gives life and health to every thing. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 417 

"Blessed flowers do spring where'er it flows, 
And deserts blossom as the rose." 

How glorious, then, and how delightful, would be the effects 
and consequences, if all men would take the Bible as the 
guide of their lives ! How soon would enmity be removed 
from the human heart; how soon would man be reconciled 
to his Maker, and peace and good-will abound among all the 
tribes and families of this sin- stained earth. 

But poor, weak, fallen man has ever been prone to seek a 
guide of his own. Deceived by his disordered G ukieofan- 
affections, his blinded reason, and many false an- ^^^ 
alogies, he has always been inclined to follow em spirituai- 
the instincts of his own perverse nature as the 
guide of his life. This is the rule that was generally adopted 
by the ancient philosophers ; and it is the same rule that is 
now followed by the modern Spiritualists. This class of 
religious sophists maintain that every man has a guide of life 
within himself; a guide that is as unerring in its object, as is 
the instinct of any species of animals ; a religious guide, by 
means of which the mind takes as direct cognizance of God, and 
of our relations, duties, and obligations to him, as it takes of 
things material through the medium of the senses* 

This is the fundamental and characteristic doctrine of the 
Parker school in America, and of the Newman school in 
England. It is also held by many of the so-called philoso- 
phers of France and Germany. The power or faculty of 
which they thus speak, is variously designated, as the Reason, 
the Pure Reason, the Intuitive Faculty, etc. But by what- 
ever name they may see fit to call it, they all agree with 
Theodore Parker, that its office is to give us direct knowl- 
edge of all that is essential in religion. They Fundamental 
maintain that Christianity proper, or religion ah- modern spirit- 
solute, consists in a system of spiritual philosophy ualists - 
founded in the nature of things ; and that the mind perceives 
* Parker's Discourse on Religion, pp. 159, 209. 

27 



418 REASON AND REVELATION. 

it intuitively, just as it perceives color by means of the eye; and 
sound, through the medium of the ear. * 

The absurd consequences of this theory are very obvious. 
If all true religion is but a system of spiritual philosophy, 
founded in the nature of things ; and if this is really per- 
ceived and enjoyed by all men simply through the exercise 
of Reason or the Intuitive Faculty ; then, of course, it follows 
that we need neither a Bible nor a Redeemer. And this in- 
deed is the avowed creed of the most distinguished advocates 
of modern Spiritualism. Theodore Parker, in his Discourse 
Their views of on Reli g ion , says : " Our theology," meaning 
Christ and the Christianity as it is taught in most modern 
churches, " has two great idols — the BIBLE and 
CHRIST."^ These Mr. Parker and his colleagues would 
cast to the moles and to the bats, just as they would cast 
aside the carved images of pagan worship. And with them 
they would, of course, reject as old wives' fables, all that is 
taught in the Bible respecting the fall of man ; the incarna- 
tion of Christ ; his atonement for sin ; his resurrection from 
the dead ; his ascension into heaven ; and his glorious reign 
over all the created powers and principalities of the entire 
universe. This is the religion of many of the self-styled 
philosophers of England, as well as of continental Europe. 
And this is one of the boasted reforms that are now spread- 
ing like a moral pestilence over our own once prosperous 
and happy country. 

To refute all the errors of this pretended scheme of phi- 
losophy within the narrow limits of one short article, is, of 
course, practically impossible. To do this would require the 
space and labors of at least a very respectable octavo. But 
to attempt this would only be a work of supererogation. 
It would be giving far more time and attention to the 
system than it really merits. And I will, therefore, for the 

* Parker's Discourse on Religion, pp. 6, 33, 34, 372. f Ibid, p. 369. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 419 

present at least, confine my remarks to a single point. I 
mean the very bald and naked hypothesis or as- _ B x 

J Jr The System, a 

sumption on which the whole system rests. Remove baseless hy- 
this, and the scheme falls like the baseless fabric 
of a vision. 

How, then, let me ask, does Mr. Parker know that there 
is no difference, except in words, between Natural and Re- 
vealed Religion ? How does he know that there is a natural 
supply for all our spiritual and corporeal wants? How does 
he know that there is a natural connection between God and 
the soul, just as there is between light and the eye ; between 
sound and the ear; between food and the palate; between 
truth and the intellect ; and between beauty and the imag- 
ination ? * How did Mr. Parker make this great discovery ? 
Was it by means of this Intuitive Faculty, which he says is 
possessed by all men ? If so, then why do not all men make 
the same discovery ? Why do men differ so much opposed to the 
in their views of God, and of their relations, du- lllZlTttonlt 
ties, and obligations to him? They do not so mankind - 
differ in their views of color, sound, taste, touch, and odors. 
All the world will say, with Messrs. Parker, Newman, and 
Mackay, that the sky is blue ; that grass is green ; and that 
flowers are variegated. But not one in a thousand, or even 
in ten thousand, will agree with them in their religious phi- 
losophy. Why is this ? If there is but one absolute religion, 
and all men are able to perceive it naturally and intuitively, 
then, I ask, why do men entertain so very different views 
concerning it? Why does the Atheist, for example, say, 
There is no God? Why did the ancient Hebrews worship 
but one ; the Persians, two; and the Greeks, thirty thousand ? 
Surely there must be something wrong in this hypothesis. 
A theory that is opposed to the experience of all mankind must 
be false. And such a theory is modern Spiritualism. 
* Parker's Discourse, p. 160. 



420 REASON AND REVELATION. 

But our objections to Mr. Parker's theory of religion do 
not rest wholly on observation. It is as much 

Opposed to the J 

consciousness opposed to the consciousness of mankind, as it is 

of mankind. . . . TT _ 

to their experience. How many, lor instance, 
will acknowledge that they are conscious of having such a 
faculty as that described by Mr. Parker? and of having 
such a knoAvledge of Divine things through it, as his theory 
implies? We are all conscious that we have the faculties 
of seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling, judging, rea- 
soning, and willing. Or, to speak more accurately, we are 
conscious of those states of mind that necessarily imply the 
existence and exercise of these faculties. But how many 
will acknowledge that they are conscious, either directly or 
indirectly, of possessing a faculty by means of which they 
intuitively know God, and the absolute or only true system 
of religion ? None, I apprehend, but a few visionary fanatics, 
whose minds the god of this world has blinded, lest the light of 
the glorious gospel of the grace of God should shine into them. 
Ah, no; these are not the matters of which we are con- 
scious. We are all conscious that we are sin- 

The Bible • 

alone, meets ners ; and that we need to be pardoned. But 
waVts of°man- how to attain to the blessed state of that man 
kind - whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are 

covered — this is a question that no powers of the human 
mind, unassisted by Revelation, hav^ ever yet answered. It 
is the Bible, fully authenticated by many infallible proofs, 
that reveals God to man, and man to himself. It is the 
Bible that teaches us that God so loved the world, even 
when it was dead in trespasses and in sins, that he gave his 
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. It is the Bible that 
makes known to us God's plan of enlightening, justifying, 
sanctifying, and redeeming our poor fallen race ; of making 
us holy here, and everlastingly happy hereafter. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 421 

Let us all, then, beware lest any man spoil us through 
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition Hence it is our 
of men, after the rudiments of the world, and onl> , p ,actical 

' guide m rehg- 

not after Christ. Let us ding to our Bibles as ion. 
the. wisdom of God and the power of God, through Clirist, 
They will guide us like a pillar of cloud by day, and like a 
pillar of fire by night, till, having crossed the Jordan, we 
shall enter that blessed land, where we shall see as we are 
seen ; and where we shall know even as also we are known. 
" Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may 
have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through 
the gates into the city." 



SECTION V.— Naturalism. 

6i Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and 
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of 
the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians ii : 8.) 

It is very obvious, that in the creation of the universe, 
God has established certain laws for its regu- 

° Evidence of the- 

lation and its government. Every creature, existence of 

.... ill • i natural laws. 

whether in heaven or on earth, whether material 
or immaterial, has been made subject to law. Thus, for in- 
stance, the little seed, as it is developed into the vine, or the 
oak, or the cedar, does not grow up at random, without form 
and proportion. Nay, verily. Its entire development, from 
its first buddings to the ripening of its fruit, is in harmony 
w r ith the most exact, definite, and unchangeable laws. The 
size of the flower, its form, its color, and its chemical con- 
stitution, are matters that are almost as fixed and as definite 
as are the properties of a triangle, a square, or a circle. 
And just so it is with every species of the animal and of the 
mineral kingdom. Water is always composed of hydrogen 



422 REASON AND REVELATION. 

and oxygen united in the ratio of one to eight. And all the 
chemists of earth can not combine these elements so as to 
form water in any other proportion. Observe, too, with what 
regularity the heavenly bodies move under the laws and in- 
fluence of gravitation. We all anticipate with confidence 
the ordinary changes of day and night, summer and winter, 
seed-time and harvest. And the astronomer foretells, with 
the most unerring certainty, the rarer and more extraordi- 
nary phenomena of eclipses and transits, even for coming 
ages. And thus it is that the heavens declare the glory of 
God, and that the earth shows forth his handiwork. 

Nor is this all. God has not only placed every creature 
^ T 4 , under law, but he has also, to a certain extent, 

Natural paw- 7 ' ' 

ers: what they made it a depository of his power. It is true, 
indeed, that all power is of God. The powers 
that be, whether intellectual, or moral, or political, or reli- 
gious, or physical, are all, in a certain sense, ordained of 
God. And thus it is that he creates and establishes what 
we call second causes. The mind of man, for example, has 
in itself no inherent or absolute power. But, nevertheless, 
God has endowed every man with a certain amount of power 
and energy, which he uses, in a great measure, according to 
his own will and pleasure. The sun has no inherent power 
in and of itself. But God has given to it an influence that 
is sufficient to keep all the planets of the solar system in 
their own proper orbits. 

This is certainly a beautiful arrangement. It detracts 
Beauty of this nothing from the glory, or power, or wisdom, or 
arrangement, goodness of the Creator. On the contrary, to the 
eye of all enlightened reason, it but serves to illustrate more 
and more fully his infinite perfections. 

But all men have not this faith. And some of them have 
not even the perspicacity that is necessary to enable them to 
look up through and beyond these second causes to Him 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 423 

who is himself the cause of all causes. They see, or think 
they see, in those delegated laws and powers of Fundamenta , 
nature, enough to regulate and govern the whole principieof 

477 •»«j7jj7 Naturalism. 

created universe. Ana hence it is that they sepa- 
rate God wholly and entirely from his works. They allow him 
to have no longer any care or concern in the government of 
things celestial, terrestial, or infernal. 

Second causes are now, in their judgment, abundantly 
adequate and sufficient for all practical purposes. Indeed, 
some would go so far as to say, " There is no God," no First 
Cause. But it is of Naturalism, and not of Atheism, that I 
now speak. And the Naturalist professes to recognize in 
nature the foot-prints of the Creator. He admits that there 
are evidences of design all around him. But he sees no evi- 
dence of God's presence in existing phenomena; nor of his 
energy or power in the present operations of nature. And 
hence he infers, that nature is a sort of a self-adjusting ma- 
chine, and that God has retired from any and all participa- 
tion in its government. 

The consequences of this theory are numerous; and some 
of them are pernicious and ruinous in the ex- i ts evii tendeu- 
treme. Carried out to its legitimate results, it cies - 
of course ignores every thing that is supernatural in the ad- 
ministration of the universe. Miracles are impossible, for 
the simple reason, that there is no power left either to sus- 
pend, or to change, or in any way to modify any of nature's 
laws. Divine providence is also discarded and ignored by 
the very conditions of the hypothesis. And hence it follows 
that prayer, intercession, and all other religious observances, 
are to be regarded as wholly superstitious and altogether 
worthless. The Bible, too, according to this theory, is a 
myth, if not a falsehood ; and philosophy is the only rational 
guide of life. 

Such is the form of infidelity that is now taught and in- 



424 REASON AND REVELATION. 

dustriously propagated by many of the most popular writers 
_ , on both sides of the Atlantic. Combe's " Consti- 

Popular works 

imbued with tution of Man" is deeply imbued with it: and 

Naturalism. T 

so, too, 1 regret to say, are many or the more 
recent and popular works, on almost every department of 
Natural Science. 

But all such writing indicates a very partial and superficial 
view of nature. There is really nothing in the whole scheme 
of the universe, that, when properly understood, has the slight- 
est bearing in favor of Naturalism. But, on the contrary, there 
_ , is much that is evidently opposed to it. Geology 

Geology is op- * *• * «^«7 

posed to Nat- is all against it. The mountains and valleys 
around us are witnesses, not only that God has 
from the beginning exercised a special care over the world, 
but also that at several different epochs of the earth's history, 
he interposed miraculously, and actually created many new 
species of both vegetables and animals. Professor Hitchcock 
says : "If we take only those larger groups of animals and 
plants, whose almost entire distinctions from one another has 
been established beyond all doubt, we shall find at least five 
nearly complete organic revolutions on the globe." * 

This, then, is a complete refutation of Naturalism. These 
facts prove conclusively, that God has never forsaken the 
earth ; that from the beginning, he has watched over it, and 
taken care of it : and, furthermore, that he has even worked 
miracles, whenever the occasion and the circumstances required 
that he should do so. This, I say, is evident from the facts 
reported by all Geologists. For as the universe originated 
in miracles, so unquestionably did every species of animals and 
plants originate in miracle. Second causes may indeed greatly 
influence and modify both animals and vegetables. But all 
the laws and powers of nature never did and never can give 
birth to a new species of either. And hence it is that the 

* Hitchcock's Elementary Geology, p. 196. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 425 

appearance of a new species of either animals or vegetables, 
just as clearly indicates the presence and energy of the Cre- 
ator, as the fall of an apple indicates the existence of gravi- 
tation. 

Geology, then, is clearly opposed to this infidel hypothe- 
sis. And, I think, it may be affirmed with Meteorology is 
equal certainty, that the science of Meteorology °pi 10sed t0 {t - 
is also opposed to it. For consider why it is, that the phe- 
nomena of each year are not invariably and uniformly the 
same. Why have we not the same amount of rain, and 
snow, and hail, and frost, and vapor, during each and every 
successive year ? The laws of nature are the same ; and so 
are also the second causes that serve to produce these phe- 
nomena. The same earth still exists from age to age. The 
same quantity of water and the same atmosphere continually 
surrounds it. The sun, too, is the same. Its relative posi- 
tions to the earth, are the same throughout the successive 
days and nights of every year. The same amount of heat, 
and light, and electricity would therefore seem to be evolved 
during each successive year, causing the same or an equal 
amount of evaporation. And yet the quantity of rain, and 
snow, and hail, varies from year to year. 

Why is this? There must be a variable power or energy 
some place. And if it is not in nature, it must be in the 
power that is providentially exercised, by the Author of na- 
ture. If it is not in the energy which God has imparted to 
the ordinances of nature, it must be in the energy which 
he himself puts forth, and providentially exercises in and 
through these ordinances. A man, for instance, may impart 
a certain amount of energy to a clock by suspending weights 
to the machinery. But he may very greatly increase this 
energy by laying his own hands upon the weights. In this 
case he works no miracle. No law of nature, nor even of 
the piece of machinery, is changed or suspended. ISTor does 



426 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the agent exercise his power against, above, or in any way 
contrary to the laws and forces of nature. He merely, by his 
own personal agency, adds to the force and energy of causes 
already acting in harmony with the established laws of na- 
ture. 

This is human providence. And when God so acts, it is 
Divine Providence. This energy he can, of course, increase 
or diminish at pleasure. And hence, it seems to me, is pro- 
duced the astonishing variety that we every-where witness 
amidst the unchanging laws and forces of nature. And 
hence it is, that God, without working a miracle, sometimes 
gives us plenty of corn, and wine, filling our hearts with 
food and gladness ; and again, when he withholds the rains, 
and the dews, and the sunshine of heaven, the flowers fade, 
crops die, and the whole face of nature seems to languish. 

And hence it is, also, that Meteorology has never yet been 
reduced to a science. It is a very remarkable fact, that 
while the astronomer can foretell the exact time and dura- 
tion of all the eclipses that will occur within the lapse of 
many centuries, he can not tell with any degree of certainty 
what kind of weather we will have to-morrow. 

And the same is true, in some measure, of the phenomena 
The phenom- of human life. The art of healing is still a 
heanh art Tp^ matter of experiment. All the skill, and knowl- 
posed to it. edge, and experience of six thousand years, have 
so far failed to reduce medicine to a science. This is cer- 
tainly a very remarkable fact. And it does seem to me, that 
this of itself is a refutation of naturalism. 

But as I do not wish to multiply arguments and illus- 
The Bible is op- trations, I will only say finally, that the Bible 
posed to it. ^ opposed to Naturalism. I assume here, of 
course, that the Bible is true. And in doing so, I am fully 
sustained by the common practice of mankind. The me- 
chanic does not think it necessary, to prove that the square 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 427 

described on the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle, is 
equivalent to the sum of the squares described on the other 
two sides, every time that he attempts to square a building. 
It is enough for him to know that this truth has been once 
demonstrated to the entire satisfaction of all competent 
judges. 

But we have proved the Divine origin and plenary inspi- 
ration of all parts of the Bible, I hope, to the entire satis- 
faction of the reader, in the first four parts of this treatise. 
This is enough. We may now reason from the Holy Scrip- 
tures, as we would reason from the demonstrated proposi- 
tions of Geometry. 

It being conceded, then, that the Bible is the Divinely in- 
spired word of God, it is an easy matter to dispose of this 
infidel hypothesis. Almost every page of the Bible is against 
it. Almost every page of the Bible shows, that God is ever 
present in all his works, directing, controlling, and govern- 
ing all things for his own glory, and also for the greatest 
good and happiness of the whole creation. Let us take 
one or two cases, for the present, merely by way of illus- 
tration. Let us take, for instance, the history of Joseph. 
How think you, courteous reader, the Naturalist would, on 
his hypothesis, explain this remarkable chapter of Sacred 
History ? How, without the presence and agency of God, 
could he account, not for one event merely, nor for two, but 
for all the events that led to the promotion of Joseph ; to 
the enslavement of the Israelites ; and to their final exodus 
from Egypt, according to the promises which God had before 
made to Abraham ? On his hypothesis, how could the Nat- 
uralist explain the eventful biography of Moses, or of Mor- 
decai, or of Daniel? How could he account for the eman- 
cipation of Israel by Cyrus, and their restoration to their 
own land? And above all, how could he explain the his- 
tory of our Redeemer, and the fulfillment of the many prophe- 



428 REASON AND REVELATION. 

cies that relate to his birth, his early education, his ministry, 
his death, his resurrection, his ascension, and his glorious 
reign and government? 

But it is unnecessary to multiply arguments and illus- 
trations. The problem is solved, and the truth fully re- 
vealed, in the few inimitable words of our blessed Redeemer, 
in which he assures us that God takes care of every thing; 
that he clothes the lily; feeds the young ravens; allows not a 
sparrow to fall to the ground without his knowledge and care; 
and that, in a word, he numbers the very hairs of our heads. 
This is enough. This is a foundation broad enough and 
strong enough on which to rest our faith and hopes forever. 

Let us, then, " beware less any man spoil us through phi- 
losophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of 

Conclusion. 

men, after the rudiments of the world, and not 
after Christ." And let us ever rejoice that in God we live, 
and move, and have our being; and that in him, and 
through him, and to him, are all things ; to whom be glory 
forever and ever. Amen. 



SECTION VI.— Pantheism. 

"Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and 
vain deceit, after the tradition of men ; after the rudiments of 
the world; and not after Christ. (Colossians ii: 8.) 

One of the first forms of idolatry known and practiced 
among; men, was the worship of the heavenly 

Notions of . 

ancient as- bodies. The great influence of some of these 
bodies, and especially of the Sun and Moon, 
upon the Earth, was observed by many of the ancient phi- 
losophers. They observed, too, that these bodies were con- 
tinually changing their position in relation to the Earth, 
and some of them in relation to each other. And hence 
many inferred that the stars and planets were living beings 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 429 

endowed with the power of locomotion; that they were in 
fact real divinities, each one of which was constantly exert- 
ing an influence on the fortunes and destinies of mankind. 
But modern science has completely exploded these notions 
of ancient astrologers. By the aid of the tele- _ , .. 

~ J Revelations 

scope, the calculus, and other means of investi- of modem 

science 

gation, it has been discovered that these bodies 
are composed of inert matter ; that they are but parts of one 
great system, called the universe; and that their motions 
and influences are all essential to the stability and harmony 
of the one grand and universal scheme. 

This, to the eye of enlightened reason, is a most con- 
vincing and glorious demonstration of the unity Proof of the 
of the Godhead. If creationi s a unit, so also Divine uuit ?- 
is its Creator a unit. If all created things are but parts of 
one stupendous whole, then indeed it follows that to us there 
is but one God, the Jehovah Elohim, who in the beginning 
created, out of nothing, the heavens and the earth, the seas 
and the fountains of water. 

This seems to me to be a fair and legitimate conclusion 
from the premises. But all men do not think so. As we 
have no direct sensible evidence of God's existence, some 
have thought and argued that it is more reasonable and 
more rational to transform all the innumerable 0rigin of Pan . 
imaginary divinities of the ancients into one di- theism - 
vinity ; to merely change Polytheism into Pantheism ; and 
thus to identify God and the universe. 

Indeed this is not, strictly speaking, a modern notion. It 
has always prevailed in India : and it is sub- Pre vaience of 
stantially the same doctrine that was taught by Pantheism - 
Pythagoras, in his celebrated school at Crotona, about 500 
years B. C. But it was reserved for Germany to bolster up 
this monstrous absurdity by all the lights and evidence of 
modern science. The attempt was first made by Benedict 



430 REASON AND REVELATION. 

de Spinoza, an apostate Jew of Amsterdam, about the mid- 
dle of the seventeenth century. And more recently this 
system has been defended and variously modified by Fichte, 
Schelling, Hegel, Strauss, and other German philosophers. 
And even now, in the year 1867, while we are anxiously en- 
deavoring to mold the minds and the hearts of the rising 
generation in the Holy Bible, many of the Professors in the 
German and French Universities, are laboring to dissemi- 
nate this form of infidelity among all ranks and classes of 
European society. 

I do not feel, therefore, that I need offer any apology for 
introducing to the notice of my readers, even so absurd a 
scheme of the philosophy of religion as that of Pantheism. 
If some of the most profound thinkers of Europe have been 
deceived by its plausible pretensions, the American youth 
may not be wholly out of danger ; they, too, may be deluded 
by its undue assumptions, and by the pretensions of science 
falsely so-called. Indeed, all history proves, that without a 
knowledge of Divine Revelation, a man may be induced to be- 
lieve almost any religious ereed, and to worship almost any idol. 
He must, and he will worship something. If he can not wor- 
ship the Creator, he will worship the creature, even in its 
lowest and most degraded forms. If his soul does not find 
rest in the religion of Jesus, he will seek it in Spiritualism, 
Pantheism, or any thing else. And hence it is important to 
guard the young against all the prevaling forms of Infidel- 
ity, and especially to expose their errors, by frequently con- 
trasting them with the very plain, simple, and rational truths 
of the Scheme of Redemption, as these are revealed and pre- 
sented to us in the Living Oracles. 

I trust, then, that I shall have the attention and indul- 
gence of my readers, while with this object in view, I attempt 
to discuss, very briefly, the claims of even so absurd a sys- 
tem as Pantheism. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 431 

This whole scheme, then, as I have said, is nothing more 
nor less than Polytheism generalized. It simply Itg funda 
reduces the universe to a unit. This unit is God; mental Prin- 
and God, of course, is the universe. This one 
dogma is the basis of the whole system. 

But from this assumption, there follow of necessity many 
very grave and serious consequences. These, of gome • 
course, constitute a part of the scheme, and must subordinate 

, r» i ■ Principles. 

stand or fall with it. It may therefore be inter- 
esting and instructive to notice a few of these very briefly, 
by way of illustration. 

In the first place, then, it is evident, that, on this hypothe- 
sis, God is not a person but a thing, a mere thing, character of 
having no self-government and no self-control. lts DlvlIllty - 
He makes nothing; and he does nothing. But he is himself 
subject to constant changes and modifications, owing simply to 
the inherent, eternal, and immutable laws of his own nature. 
And hence we see why it is, and how it is, that Strauss and 
other Pantheists argue so confidently against the possibil- 
ity of all miracles. On their assumption, a miracle is in- 
deed an evident impossibility. Admit their premises, and 
their conclusion follows of necessity. 

Another consequence of these premises is the denial of man's 
personality, freedom of will, and immortality. If character of 
the universe is God, and God is the universe, then its Humatiit > r - 
indeed, properly speaking, man has not even individuality, 
and much less has he personality. He is a mere mode or 
manifestation of the Divine existence ; — a phenomenon that 
appears for a little while, and then vanishes forever. Like 
bubbles that rise from the ocean, and float and glitter for a 
few moments on its surface, and are then lost forever in the 
abyss of waters ; even so, by a fatal necessity, man rises for 
a little while out of the abyss of the Divine essence; ap- 
pears for a few days in the beauty of youth and the glory 



432 REASON AND REVELATION. 

of manhood ; and then sinks into a state of unconsciousness — 
forever absorbed and lost in the fullness of the Divine ex- 
istence. And this is the repose of Pantheism. This is its 
heaven. This is its boasted glory and felicity. 

One more thought, and I have done with this part of my 
its Moral subject. It is evident that Pantheism obliterates 

Code - all moral distinctions; all supposed differences 

between right and wrong, behveen moral good and evil. It is 
incredible to suppose that one part of a Divinity under the 
dominion of an absolute necessity, can ever transgress against 
another part. As well might we suppose that the human 
hand would transgress against the human foot : or that the 
head would violate its moral obligations to the heart. But 
this is impossible ; for the simple reason, that no such moral 
obligations exist or can exist between different parts of the 
human body. And just so it is on the Pantheistic hypoth- 
esis ; there being no moral relations, there can, of course, be 
no moral obligations ; and where there are no moral obliga- 
tions, there can be no moral wrongs or injuries inflicted. 

Many other consequences of a similar and equally absurd 
nature, necessarily follow from the assumptions of Panthe- 
ism. But the points already explained and illustrated are 
Proofs of its sufficient for our present purpose. And I sim- 
faiiaciousness. ^ ^g^ now ^ m conclusion, to say a few things 
in relation to the merits of the whole system. 

1. And the first remark that I wish to make is, that the 
From the evidence of design, taken from the structure and 

the U unl verse, mechanism of the universe, is all against it. No 
and the eyi- man j n ]^ s senses thinks of identifying a watch 

dence of the ^ ^ ° 

Bible. and its maker. The evidence of design seen in 

its structure and arrangement, is proof positive to all sober- 
minded persons, that it had a designer. And just so it is 
in the vast empire of nature. The nicely -adjusted mechan- 
ism of the heavens, and the more delicately- wrought struct- 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 433 

ure of every species of vegetables and animals, clearly in- 
dicate to every sound and well-balanced mind, that the 
universe is not eternal; that it did not make itself; and 
that it is not the result of chance ; but that, as the Bible 
assures us, " In the beginning God created the heavens and 
the earth out of nothing." In this respect, then, the evi- 
dence of Nature and the evidence of Divine Revelation har- 
monize most perfectly. And the evidence of both is irre- 
concilably opposed to all the claims and assumptions of 
Pantheism. 

2. My second argument against this modern scheme of 
infidelity, is derived from the evidence of our own From our owq 
consciousness. We are all conscious of our own consciousness 

. ,..-,,. n i-i . 'i i and the Bible. 

individuality ; of our own personal identity ; and 
of our ability to will, and generally to act as we please. We 
need no evidence beyond that of our own consciousness to 
prove that we think, and feel, and act for ourselves. Any 
scheme of philosophy, therefore, that makes man a mere 
passive machine, or that ignores the highest principles and 
attributes of his nature, by reducing him to a mere phenom- 
enon or mode of the Divine existence, must be false, if there 
is any reliance to be placed in the evidence of our own senses 
and consciousness. And if we can not rely upon these wit- 
nesses, then most assuredly we can rely upon nothing. Then, 
indeed, Pantheism, and every other ism, becomes a mere chi- 
mera of the brain, and universal skepticism is the inevitable 
result. 

Let not, then, the youth of our country be deceived by 
such wild and extravagant speculations. "Evil communi- 
cations corrupt good manners." How much more rational 
and consistent with the testimony of our own consciousness, 
is the account which God has given us in the Holy Bible, 
respecting man's powers and capabilities. After Jehovah 
Elohim had created every thing else pertaining to this world; 
28 



434 REASON AND REVELATION. 

after lie had filled its mountains and its valleys with coal, and 
iron, and other precious minerals for the good of man ; after 
he had covered its surface with fruits, and flowers, and all 
kinds of herbage; after he had filled the water with fishes, 
the air with birds, and land surface with quadrupeds, he said 
within himself: " Let us make man in our own image, after 
our likeness ; and let them have dominion over the fish of 
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, 
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that 
creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own 
image ; in the image of God created he him ; a male and a 
female created he them." This is the first lesson that God 
has taught us concerning man. And the second is that in 
which he informs us that by the abuse of this freedom, man 
sinned, and thus brought death into the world and all our 
woe. Indeed, in every chapter of the Holy Bible, man is rep- 
resented, just as he appears within the domain of his own con- 
sciousness, as a voluntary agent, free in all cases to refuse the 
evil and to choose the good. Here, then, again we have the 
most perfect and entire harmony between Nature and Reve- 
lation ; and as in the first instance, they are both in opposi- 
tion to the claims and assumptions of Pantheism. 

3. Another objection to this hypothesis is, that it is irre- 
From the office concilobly opposed to the dictates of conscience, or 
2 c^nnecti^n' to the impulses of man's moral nature. If it is 
with the Bible. i ruQj as Pantheism always implies, and as it 
sometimes affirms, that human actions have no moral quali- 
ties ; that they are but the legitimate effects of causes as im- 
mutable as the Divine nature; and that they are therefore 
all equally good or bad — then, I ask, whence and for what 
purpose is this inward monitor that we call Conscience? 
Why was this lying witness ever placed within the human 
breast to torment man by its falsehood? Why does a man 
feel remorse for one action, and the highest degree of com- 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 435 

placencv on account of another ? Surely there must be some- 
thing wrong just here. Surely there must be some error in a 
scheme which is so contrary to every man's experience and 
to every principle of human government and social order. 
And what must be still more perplexing to the Pantheist, 
is the very remarkable fact, that here again the testimony 
of Xature corresponds exactly with the testimony of Divine 
Revelation, and that both these witnesses are opposed to his 
favorite hypothesis. 

My fourth objection to Pantheism is, that it is opposed to 
some of the strongest natural desires of the human From the nat- 
heart ; and particularly to man's desire to live for- "£e human 8 ° 
ever; to preserve his own personal identity amidst hea f ti and * he 

' ■*■ ■*- *> evidences of 

the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds. the Bible. 

That this is true of every man I presume no one doubts. 
I can conceive of nothing but the fear of everlasting tor- 
ment that could induce any man to desire annihilation, or 
to seek for eternal absorption in the Divine essence. But 
w r hy was the desire to live and to preserve our own person- 
ality ever implanted in the human breast, if it is not to be 
gratified; if, in a few days or years, we must all sink into 
a state of absolute unconsciousness, never again to see the 
light of heaven, nor to hear the sweet melodies of nature; 
nor to feel one more emotion of sympathy, or of friendship, 
or of love? Surely a theory must be greatly at fault which 
is so contrary to nature, and which is so directly opposed to 
many of the strongest and most elevating impulses of the 
human soul. 

How much more rational and consistent is the doctrine of 
Divine Revelation. How consonant with our desires and 
our happiness is the assurance given in that blessed volume 
that man was made for immortality; that though in Adam 
all die, yet that in Christ Jesus all shall be made alive; 
that the hour is coming when all that are in their graves 



436 REASON AND REVELATION. 

shall hear the voice of our Savior, and shall come forth — 
they that have done good to the resurrection of life ; to a 
state of honor, and glory, and immortality in the presence 
of our God. There, there will be fullness of joy, and there, 
there will be pleasure forevermore. 

"No chilling winds, nor poisonous breath 
Can reach that healthful shore; 
Sickness and sorrow, pain and death, 
Are felt and feared no more." 

" Beware," then, my dear readers, " lest any man spoil you 
through philosophy and vain deceit ; after the 

Admonition. f r n 

tradition of men ; after the rudiments of the 
world ; and not after Christ." O, never give up your Bibles 
for any such baseless and unsatisfactory hypothesis as Spir- 
itualism, or Naturalism, or Pantheism. They have not the 
shadow of evidence to support them, and they can only fill 
the soul with darkness and doubting. But the Bible is full 
of light, full of joy, and full of comfort. Follow its pre- 
cepts and they will lead you safely through your earthly 
pilgrimage ; through the dark valley of the shadow of death ; 
and finally through the gates into the everlasting city of 
our God. 

SECTION VII.— Atheism. 

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." 
(Psalm xiv: 1.) 

This is Atheism : the greatest extreme of infidelity ; the 
The last and most monstrous and absurd negation that was 
treme 8t of X infi- ever uttered by human lips. All other forms 
deiity. f infidelity concede something to Christianity ; 

but Atheism concedes nothing. It dogmatically obliterates 
from the Bible, as a falsehood, every thing that is said in it 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 437 

respecting God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the 
Scheme of Redemption. 

It is true, there is one form of Atheism, now perhaps more 
commonly called Secularism, which does not go characteristics 
so far in its affirmations. It is rather more of Seculiirism - 
modest and unassuming in its pretensions. It is satisfied 
with doubting in regard to these matters. It does not pre- 
tend to decide positively whether there is or is not a God. 
There may be, or there may not be. This is a matter that 
does not concern the Secularist. It is enough for him, he 
thinks, to attend to the affairs of this world : to things of 
the present life. All beyond this, he regards as uncertain 
and unimportant. And hence his motto is the old Epicurean 
maxim revived : " Let us eat and drink ; for to-morrow we 
die." 

But the Atheist of which David nere speaks, dogmatically 
affirms that there is no God ; no Christ, no Holy 
Spirit, and no redemption from death and the Dogmr 
grave. With him, nature is every thing; and 
every thing is nature. Whether the universe is eternal, as 
Aristotle taught ; or whether it is the work of chance — the 
mere product of matter in motion, as many of the disciples of 
Epicurus supposed ; or whether it is the result of an infinite 
series of developments from primordial and uncreated mo- 
nads, as most modern Atheists affirm, may indeed be a ques- 
tion. On this, and also on many other kindred subjects, 
some of the most enlightened of the school still entertain 
doubts. But that there is no God; no moral government 
over the universe ; and no future state of rewards and pun- 
ishments, are matters clear as sunshine, if we may believe the 
testimony of such men as Diagoras, Bion, and Lucian among 
the ancients ; and d'Holbach and Comte among the moderns. 

I presume, then, that I need not consume more time in ex- 
plaining what Atheism is. It is all summed up and told in 



Pretensions of 

atic 
Atheism. 



438 REASON AND REVELATION. 

the affirmation of the fool, "There is no God." But as young 
persons particularly are very liable to be misled by the meie 
authority of names, I wish, for their sake, to say a few things 
on the merits of this so-called system of infidelity. 

And in the first place, I wish all my readers, and particu- 
Foii andab- l ar ty * ne voun g> to consider how very reckless 
surdity of these and unauthorized is this assertion of the Atheist. 
How does he know that there is no God f Has he 
seen all the parts of the universe? Has he explored its in- 
finite dimensions ; and does he comprehend every thing per- 
taining to its structure and organization — material and im- 
material? You see, at once, that nothing short of infinite 
knowledge can justify any one in making this assertion. 
And yet it is made by a creature that does not know himself: 
that does not know the powers and capacities of his own soul : 
that does not comprehend many things pertaining to the little 
clay tabernacle in which his spirit has its present abode : — a 
being to whom every blade of grass, and every leaf of the 
forest, and every particle of the earth is a mystery : — a being 
who does not know one in a hundred of the creatures that 
inhabit this world ; and who knows almost nothing of the 
ten thousand times ten thousand other worlds that compose 
the vast empire of Jehovah. 

What would you think of the man who would stand up in 
a court of justice, and testify that there is no gold, nor silver, 
nor iron, nor copper in the moon ; though he has never set a 
foot upon its surface, nor examined a single particle of the 
vast masses of which it is composed ? How much would such 
testimony weigh with the court and j ury ? And yet that testi- 
mony would be reasonable compared with the dogmatical asser- 
tion made by any man, however learned, that there is no God. 

There is also another circumstance, which I think detracts 
very much from the force and credibility of this assertion. 
You observe that it is not given as a logical deduction from 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 439 

premises, either duly or unduly assumed. On the contrary, 
it springs from the common source of all infidel- source of Athe- 
ity, the desire of the heart The fool hath said, ism - 
not in his reason, nor in his understanding, but in his hearty 
" There is no God." He first wishes it were so ; and then he 
believes it to be so. Such, I think, is the testimony of all 
infidel experience; and such is certainly the testimony of 
that Spirit that tries the hearts and reins of the children of 
men. In speaking of Gentile idolaters and Atheists, Paul 
says, by the Spirit : "And even as they did not like to retain 
God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate 
mind — i. e., to a mind void of judgment — to do those things 
which were not becoming"* 

It is not, then, because men are forced by any fair course 
of reasoning, that they become Atheists ; but it is because, 
that not liking to retain God in their knowledge, and loving 
darkness rather than the light, God has given them over to 
believe a lie, that they all may be damned who obey not the 
truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. 

And hence you see, in the third place, the bitter fruits and 
consequences of Atheism. "As they did not like 

/-n i • • i Evilconse- 

to retain God in their knowledge," says the quencesof 
Apostle; or, in other words, as they desired to Atheism - 
become Atheists, God gave them up to this disposition of 
mind. And the consequence was, that they became immoral 
and impious just in proportion as they advanced 

* i // -r» • r»n i • l 1 1 • Illustrations. 

in Atheism. " Being filled with all unrighteous- 
ness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; 
being full of envy, murder, deceit, malignity ; " and at the 
same time they became "detractors, backbiters, haters of 
God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, dis- 
obedient to parents, without understanding, covenant break- 
ers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful." f 
* Romans i: 28. | Romans i: 28-32. 



440 REASON AND REVELATION. 

It was a question of dispute among the ancients, whether 
Question a commuin ty, leavened throughout with atheist- 

among ancient i ca l principles, could possibly, subsist. But as 

philosophers. . _ .. 

a majority ot both statesmen and philosopher? 
were always on the negative side of this question, the exper- 
iment was never practically made and fairly tested, till the 
time of the French Revolution. True, indeed, the natural 
and necessary tendencies of this form of infidelity, were very 
plainly indicated long before that ever-memorable epoch. 
This was particularly the case, during the decline of the 
Greek Republics and the Roman Empire. But in A. D. 
B . . . AU 1793, the reign of Atheism commenced in 

Solved by the ' & 

French Revo- France ; and with it commenced, simultaneous- 
ly, the Reign of Terror. France was like the 
troubled sea : it was, in fact, a sea of blood. For a time, 
every species of iniquity prevailed to a most alarming ex- 
tent. But in a little while, there was a re-action in the 
public mind. The people soon recoiled from a system so 
impious and so horrible. And the very same convention 
that had publicly disowned the Most High, ignored his au- 
thority, and proclaimed death to be an eternal sleep, was 
compelled, by the immense increase of crime, to revoke their 
edicts; acknowledge the immortality of the soul; and bow, 
though reluctantly, to the government of the King eternal, 
immortal, and invisible. Surely, then, a system of such ten- 
dencies can not be a system of truth. Let us 

Inference. ^ ■»«/»■ 

either make the tree good, and its fruit good ; or 
else, let us make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt ; for 
the tree is known by its fruit. 

How beautifully and how gloriously Christianity contrasts, 
contrast be- in this respect, with this form of infidelity. Its 
and e christia™ fruits are all light, and life, and love. Its ten- 
ity - dencies are all, "Glory to God in the highest; 

and on earth, peace and good-will to all men." 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 441 

I am aware that much wickedness has been committed in 
the name of Christianity. I know that " adultery, fornica- 
tion, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, 
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envy- 
ings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like," have 
been practiced and tolerated within the very pale of the so- 
called Church of Jesus Christ. But I also know that these 
crimes have no proper connection with Christianity. They are 
the legitimate offspring of infidelity; and can never, with 
any propriety, be ascribed to the teachings and workings 
of that blessed Spirit, whose fruits are all " love, and joy, 
and peace, and long-suffering, and gentleness, and goodness, 
and fidelity, and meekness, and temperance." Let these 
virtues become universal, and the very highest state of civil- 
ization of which the human race are susceptible, will soon 
become universal. Man will cease to hate and to annoy his 
fellow-man; and all the kindreds, tribes, and families of 
the Earth will be united in one harmonious and delightful 
brotherhood. 

My fourth ground of objection to Atheism is, that it is 
directly opposed to the evidence of design and con- Evidence 
trivance so clearly and so abundantly manifested si g n ve ™<s 
in every department of nature. If it is true, that 
every effect must have had a cause, that every design im- 
plies a designer, then verily this great universe must have 
had an Almighty Framer and Architect. Let any man, for 
example, carefully examine the structure and the mechanism 
of the human eye, and he will say, with Newton, that the 
study of this one organ is a cure for Atheism, if indeed it 
is a curable malady. Or let him look up to these beautiful 
stars — 

" That nightly roll, 
And shed their light from pole to pole, 
Forever singing as they shine; 
The hand that made us is Divine ' 



442 REASON AND REVELATION. 

and he will be constrained to say with David, " The heavens 
declare the glory of God, and the earth showeth forth his 
handiwork." 

I do not say, that without the aid of Divine Revelation, 
any man could have derived a correct knowledge of the 
character and attributes of Jehovah from the mere works 
of nature. This is not the question before us. There is a 
difference as wide as the poles between the discovery and the 
proof of a proposition. And it is therefore enough for our 
present purpose, that the truth respecting God's existence 
and character, first communicated to Adam and Noah by 
direct revelation, and afterward transmitted to their pos- 
terity by oral and written tradition, is now corroborated 
and sustained by the light of all nature : so that " God's 
eternal power and Divinity are now clearly seen, being 
understood by the things that are made."* This, it would 
seem, ought to be sufficient. If the heavens and the earth, 
the seas and fountains of water, with all their varied and 
multiplied tenantry, are opposed to Atheism, then what 
farther need have we of witnesses ? Surely we might rest 
the matter just here, and allow the voice of nature, which 
is now distinctly heard in all the earth, to proclaim its 
Maker's praise. 

But, after all, it is in the Bible, and from the Bible, and 
_ „.„ through the Bible, that we have most convinc- 

The Bible . . 

versus ing and satisfactory evidence against Atheism 

and every other species and form of infidelity. 
Indeed, this evidence is perfectly overwhelming. We need 
no other. And the man who is not convinced by this, 
would not be persuaded though one witness or one thousand 
witnesses should rise from the dead, to testify to the world 
the existence of God, and the glorious realities of the spirit- 
ual universe. 

* Romans i : 20. 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 443 

How, for example, can the Atheist, or the Pantheist, or 
the Naturalist, or the Spiritualist, account for 

• i i /-n i • -r» Illustrations. 

the fad, that the promise made by God in Par- 
adise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the head 
of the serpent, has been so exactly fulfilled in the person 
of Jesus of Nazareth ? How can he account for the fact, 
that the prophecy of Noah respecting his three sons and 
their posterity, has been illustrated and confirmed by the 
history of more than four thousand years? How can he 
account for the fact, that in and through the seed of Abra- 
ham, all the nations of the earth have been blessed? How 
can he account for the fact, that Jesus appeared as the 
Shiloh or Prince of peace, just a little while before the 
scepter departed from Judah, and that to him has since been 
the gathering of the people? How can he account for the 
fact, that every type of Moses has its exact counterpart in 
the Christian Institution; and that without the latter, the 
former would be as empty, and as worthless, and as inex- 
plicable, as a shadow without a substance? How can he 
account for the fact, that just at the beginning of the seven- 
tieth week after the date of the decree to restore and to 
build Jerusalem, the Messiah appeared : confirmed the cove- 
nant with many for one week, or part of a week ; and that 
in the midst of the week, he was put to death as a male- 
factor, though acknowledged by most modern skeptics to be 
the greatest and best reformer that ever lived? How can 
he account for the fact, that soon after this, as predicted by 
Daniel, the city of Jerusalem was swept away as by a flood ; 
that the Jews were then scattered among all the nations; 
and that their present condition, as w T ell as their history for 
the last eighteen hundred years, exactly corresponds to what 
Moses and Christ predicted concerning them ? How can 
he account for the fact, that soon after the death of Christ, 
as has been acknowledged even by Tacitus and other profane 



444 REASON AND REVELATION. 

historians, a new institution was founded by his few humble 
and despised followers; that this Institution has flourished 
despite the opposition, and hatred, and malice of Jews and 
Gentiles; that it now claims as its advocates and supporters 
the most enlightened, the purest, and the best portions of 
the human race; and that, judging from the signs of the 
times, this institution or kingdom, which was at first indeed 
but as a grain of mustard-seed, or like a little stone cut out of 
a mountain without hands, is itself likely to become a great 
mountain, and fill the whole earth ? How can he account 
for the fad, that the Bible, composed as it was by so many 
authors, and under so great a diversity of time, place, and 
other circumstances, should be perfectly harmonious within 
itself and correspond so exactly with the most recent de- 
velopments of modern science in any and every department 
of nature to which it refers? And finally, how can he 
account for the fact, that when the doctrines and sentiments 
of this Blessed Volume, are received into the head and heart 
of any man, and developed in his life, they change his whole 
nature, character, and disposition ; filling his heart with love, 
and peace, and joy; and, at the same time, inspiring him 
with an earnest desire to do good to all men as he may have 
opportunity ? 

Ah, my dear readers, there is but one way to answer these 
„ , . and ten thousand other questions of like import; 

Conclusion x x 

from these and that is by conceding the fact that the Lord 
God Omnipotent reigneth, and that the Bible is 
a revelation of his will to fallen man. 

And after all, this is just what every good man desires. 
, . To the morally impure and corrupt, the idea of 

Consolation to J x # A 7 

the pure in God's presence and government, is of course full 

of terror and remorse. For to all such, God is 

a consuming fire. But to the pure in heart, nothing can be 

more delightful and consoling than this thought. To know 



FAITH AND INFIDELITY. 445 

that though we are weak, and erring, and helpless, yet that 
our Father is omnipotent; omniscient and omnipresent; kind, 
and merciful, and good; and that if we are only faithful and 
obedient for a little while, he will cleanse us from all our 
sins, purify our hearts, and lead us safely through the dark 
valley of the shadow of death, to the joys, and honors, and 
pleasures of his everlasting kingdom ; — this, I say, is just 
what every child of God desires. And nothing short of this 
can ever satisfy the desires of the human soul. "Beware, 
then, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain 
deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the 
world, and not after Christ." 



THE END. 



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